My Dad, James
by Ellie0788
Summary: What would have life been like if James didn't die that night, but raised Harry as a single father?  Warning, may or may not contain spankings in later chapters, but not at all a focus of the story.  You have been warned!
1. Chapter 1

**_I was looking for a story about what might have happened if James was just pushed aside that night, not killed. I couldn't find one, so I decided to write my own. Please R & R, but go easy on me! This is my first ever ff :)_**

**_Elle  
><em>**

James Potter watched the children from the window, running from door to door, clad in costume, with parents following behind. Of course, they skipped over his house. They couldn't see his house, not since the Fidelus charm. He heard his baby's squeal behind him; Lily must be done giving him his bath. He turned to laugh as Harry lunged to grab the cat's tail, and the cat bounded out of his reach. The game continued for several minutes, cat vs. baby, before Harry had enough of it and came to his father, arms in the air, reaching out. James lifted his son, tossing him in the air and earning himself a squeal of delight. Lily walked out of the bathroom, smiling.

"Don't rile him up, James! It's almost bed time," she scolded lightly, with a smile on her face.

She leaned up to kiss him, before kissing her son and heading off to take her shower, leaving her husband to have a few minutes alone with their son. James carried the tot off to the couch, and took out his wand to entertain Harry with his favorite game: poufs of smoke from the end of his wand. Harry squealed with delight every time. The game continued until Lily came out of the bathroom, towel around her wet hair. "Bedtime!" she exclaimed. James kissed his son and handed him to his mother, wondering how he had gotten so lucky. Sure, they were in hiding, and restless; but his family was safe in their cozy home. Peter Pettigrew was one of his best friends; he trusted him with the life of his family.

He heard something outside; turned to the door as it was being opened. A tall figure with snakelike eyes, in a black cloak was coming toward them. They had been found.

Without hesitating, he shouted to Lily, "It's him! Take Harry and run, I'll hold him off!" As Lily raced upstairs with their precious son, James heard an evil laugh, before being thrown to the side and seeing no more.

A short time later, James woke up in a pile of rubble. Disoriented, cut up and bruised, a large amount of blood seeping from his right arm, he looked around at what was his living room, blasted apart. He remembered quickly what happened, and raced upstairs and into the nursery, where the first thing he saw was his wife, lying on the ground. Eyes open. Unmoving. He fell to his knees, staring at her in disbelief. It couldn't be; she was simply knocked out, as he had been. He felt her wrist and imagined a nonexistent pulse. He held her tightly to his chest, not noticing anything else in the room, till he heard a loud "Dada!" He looked to the crib and saw his little boy standing in the crib, forehead cut and bloody, crying "dada" with his arms raised toward James.

James gently laid his wife on the ground, and closed her eyes and kissed her tenderly, before rising and rushing to the crib and lifting his son, holding him close and kissing his little face over and over, letting the tears fall down his face. How could he not have noticed his son right away? How could his wife be dead? Where had Voldemort gone, and how was Harry alive? He quickly left the nursery, hating to leave his wife but not wanting to let Harry see her. Not like that.

He heard a yell from downstairs. "James!" called the frightened voice he knew so well. He carried the baby down and saw relief fill Sirius' eyes. He let the man he loved like a brother embrace him; they both knew without words what had happened: Peter had betrayed them.

"Lily?" Sirius asked, looking James in the eye. James remained silent, knowing that answering the question would make it more real, but he answered it with his silence; and Sirius knew.

Sirius led a grief stricken James to the destroyed living room, unsure how to proceed. He didn't want to take them outside; there were sure to be spectators drawn to the now destroyed fidelus charmed house. He could get James and Harry out on his motorbike, true, but that would involve leaving Lily, and he knew James wouldn't do that. He decided on his only course of action, and sent a patronus to Albus Dumbledore. Sirius was still in shock as he took a good look around the room. From under the couch James was now sitting on, Sirius saw James' wand, and pulled it out, pocketing it. He took off his own shirt and wrapped it around the wound on James' arm, not trusting himself with a spell as complicated as a healing one in his present state of mind.

Only a few moments later, with a loud crack, Albus Dumbledore apparated into the living room, no twinkle in his eye, a grave look on his face. With one look around the room, he turned to Sirius.

"What did you do, Sirius," he asked his voice rigid with sadness, anger and confusion; his wand pointed at Sirius. Sirius was silent, unable to find the words to speak; for he knew that though he didn't directly betray his best friends, it was he who suggested Peter. How could he explain the horrible thing he had done?

At the younger man's silence, Dumbledore disarmed him, before shooting invisible ropes from the end of his wand, which bound themselves around Sirius. James seemed to come to his senses at this point.

"No," he quietly stated, "it wasn't him. Peter. Peter was our secret keeper; he betrayed us. Not Sirius."

Understanding crossed Dumbledore's wise eyes, "you changed without telling," he stated, obviously, before banishing the rope binding Sirius. "Is Lily…" he paused seeing the slight shake of Sirius' head. He decided not to question how James and Harry were alive, nor the whereabouts of Voldemort; not yet. First thing to do was remove them from the home. Of course, the ministry would want to question James and Sirius, as well, but Dumbledore wasn't well known for abiding by the ministry's wishes. The safest place for the Potters right now was Hogwarts, as they knew not where Voldemort was.

Dumbledore approached James cautiously, "we need to get you to Hogwarts," he told the man, in a low tone; seeing for the first time, the cut on baby Harry's forehead. "We can get Madame Pomfrey to check Harry out, and you," he said, putting his arm around James to help him stand.

James looked up, startled. "No," he stated adamantly, "I can't leave Lily."

"There is nothing you can do for her; Harry needs you. I'll take care of her;" Dumbledore promised, before lighting a fire in the fireplace—still intact—and handing James the floo powder. "Go directly to the hospital wing," he insisted, "you both need to be checked out."

James hesitated, trying to think clearly. He didn't want to leave Lily, but Albus was right; he had Harry to consider, and he had to get his boy out of here. He did as was bidden, grabbed the powder, jumped into the fire with his son and stated "Hogwarts hospital wing" before being whisked away.

Sirius headed toward the door, now that he knew James and Harry were safe; he had a murder to commit. Dumbledore stopped him.

"Not tonight, Sirius," he said, as he watched the man go from extreme sadness and comfort for his friend, to extreme rage in the time it took for James to floo away.

"I'm going to kill him!" Sirius said, ignoring Dumbledore.

"And leave your best friend and godson at the time they need you the most? James lost his wife to a person he considered a friend; don't make him lose you to Azkaban, follow him to Hogwarts Sirius. He needs you," Dumbledore advised gently.

Sirius struggled; wanting nothing more than to kill the man who betrayed his best friend. He would have died before betraying Peter, yet Peter betrayed his best friend.

"Let the ministry handle it, he won't be able to run for long," Dumbledore went on, quietly.

But Sirius knew different. Peter had a disguise, and a right good one, that Dumbledore knew nothing about. He could live as a rat, no one ever the wiser. But right now, he had to admit Dumbledore had a point. Sirius had no idea where Peter was, anyway. What good would chasing him do; and if he came across him he would kill them, and James would have lost yet another person on this awful night. Turning his back on the door, he marched past Dumbledore and followed his friend to the hospital wing.


	2. Coping

**Thanks for all the reviews! I completely expected to get this up before today, but I ended up starting over twice because I couldn't decide where I wanted it to go; I had hoped to get it up before the weekend but I didn't finish and then went out of town! I'll try to get chapters up within a week or so now that I know where I'm going with this story, but I am a student intern...which means I work full time for no pay and have to work side jobs for something to live on lol, so I'll try my hardest! The story will pick up some pace as I get out of this stage, I have some ideas on where it's going now! Thank you for reviewing, and if you have any suggestions I'm open to any ideas, or constructive criticism! Please continue to read and review!  
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**Elle**

Chapter 2: Coping**  
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Lily's funeral was a blur. So many people wanted to come and pay respects to the mother who gave her life for the "boy who lived," but James insisted that it be a private, friends and family only ceremony. People offered their condolences, and James politely shook hands, not really taking any of it in. He was surprised to see Vernon and Petunia Dursley, with a small boy in tow, in attendance; but was pleased they felt enough toward Lily to pay respects at her funeral. He was able to hold it together as he saw her, as though sleeping, lying in the casket. He opted not to let Harry see her; the boy wouldn't understand, and would want his mother to wake up if he saw her. He let himself run on autopilot the entire day, not paying attention to any of the speakers or the service, until it was finally time for everyone to leave and he could spend some time alone with his son.

November 3. Three days since that awful, fateful night. James paced the living room of Sirius' small flat, humming softly the tune that Lily always sang to get Harry to sleep. Oh, how he missed her. It didn't seem real; at any moment she was going to walk through the door, a smile on her face and a kiss for her boys. But she wasn't; she wasn't ever coming back. That much became more real to him upon seeing her beautiful sleeping face in the casket. He'd lost the love of his life the night he became a single parent; and not to just any child, but the "savior of the wizarding world." The hero that conquered the Dark Lord. It didn't seem like that, though. No matter what the world said, right now Harry was just a baby that lost his mother; and James a man that lost his wife in a terrible, tragic way. At the moment the downfall of Voldemort just didn't seem real. What was real, was the breaking of James' heart as he tried unsuccessfully to comfort his child that had been screaming for his mummy for the past 5 hours. James never was good at getting the baby to sleep. Lily just had the "magic touch," Harry screamed his head off for Lily the few times James ever attempted to get the boy to sleep, until Lily relented and came to his rescue. Now, she couldn't come to his rescue. His poor baby had finally fallen asleep on James' chest, but the moment James sat down or stopped moving the child woke up. Hence, James' 4am stroll around the living room. Sirius and Remus were angels during this awful time; both doing everything they could to lighten the burden for James, but Harry clung to James. And truth be told, James couldn't let go of him, either. James wondered how much Harry understood. He seemed happy enough during the day; but at night he went crazy for his mummy. James wished the baby was old enough for some kind of sleep potion. Finally, past exhausted, James lay down on the couch, positioning the baby on his chest, and for once Harry didn't wake. James fell quickly asleep, which was how Sirius found the two of them when he awoke an hour later.

Sirius walked into the living room after a fitful night's sleep. He was always a late sleeper, but at 5am he could just not stand lying in bed any longer. He heard Harry up all night, crying; he tried to take over several times, let James get some sleep; but neither of the Potter's would leave the other so Sirius went back to bed. He was glad James was finally able to fall asleep, but Harry was positioned precariously on the edge of the sofa. Sirius very carefully pried Harry from his father's chest, successful in not awakening the tot, he put him in the playpen in the middle of the room, before coving each with a blanket.

Sirius quietly strode into the kitchen, and made a pot of coffee. He sat down to read the _Daily Prophet_, which was covered in different articles about the downfall of Voldemort. Tons of death eaters caught, sent to Azkaban; a few celebration parties fined because they had been too rowdy in the muggle world; a picture of the Potter family and an article on Lily's death and Harry's survival. Still not a word on Peter. Sirius, with Remus' help, had gotten up the nerve to tell Dumbledore about their animagi adventures all these years; and Peter's most convenient disguise. Still, there were thousands of rats in the world; and while they knew Peter was among them, they had no way of knowing where he was. They'd just have to bide their time; Peter would come out eventually, and when he did they would be ready.

At that moment, the fire roared and Remus stepped through, looking tired and disheveled. The poor man didn't find out about Lily until the day after; having been running with the full moon that night. Since then though, he spent all his time with Sirius and the remaining Potters, being of what little help he could be; only leaving to sleep. He, himself was still in shock at the betrayal of Peter; as well as still struggling with the guilt of having suspected Sirius in the first place. He would have to get over that now; it did no good. He'd gone home to sleep, but sleep didn't come much. He spent the night worrying about his friend, and when the hour was reasonable enough to go back to Sirius' place, he did just that…at 6am. He helped himself to coffee, pouring Sirius a cup as well, and joined him at the table.

"Anything?" Remus asked, as Sirius put down the paper and took the cup of coffee.

"30 death eaters arrested, that's something," Sirius replied. "Still no sign of Peter, but he's a wanted man now. I still think we should make known his disguise, but I suppose Dumbledore has his reasons."

Remus nodded, understanding. "Dumbledore doesn't want the world in an uproar, scared of rats, does he? But he can't stay hidden forever, can he? Our main focus has to be James and Harry. I don't think Peter's dangerous without a strong leader…he never could think for himself, could he?"

Sirius nodded, "That's the truth; still, with any luck a nice cat will find him, and we won't have to worry," he stated before adding, "course, I guess I'd like to know for sure when he is gone."

The two talked quietly for some time, before they heard a whimper from the living room. Sirius quickly and quietly went to retrieve Harry from the playpen, carrying him into the kitchen.

"Let's let Daddy rest for a little while," he told the child, and to his surprise, Harry didn't object but settled into his godfather's arms. Remus summoned a bottle of milk and some oatmeal as Sirius sat down with the boy on his lap, and began feeding him. Harry was momentarily happy; babbling away as he ate his oatmeal, and making faces at his godfather. The two Marauders couldn't help but laugh at the innocence of the baby.

James woke up and stretched close to 10:00, neck sore from his position on the couch. He was momentarily on alert upon noticing his son wasn't in the room, until he heard the babbling from the bathroom. He headed in that direction, finding his son in the tub, splashing at Remus who splashed right back, both laughing. James smiled at the sight of his fellow Marauder soaked and covered in suds, compliments of his smiling green eyed baby. No matter what, James had to make this OK for Harry. He was so thankful the little boy was still alive, and it was his job to love, protect, and cherish the little boy that his wife gave her life for.

"Dada!" squealed the baby upon seeing the man in the doorway.

"Hey Pup!" James said, squatting next to his baby and kissing him on the head. "Are you getting Uncle Remus all wet?" he asked Harry, who laughed and splashed his daddy in response. Yes, James decided, Harry would be OK. James would see to that.

Six weeks had passed, and James still thought about Lily every moment of the day. Harry still cried for her occasionally, but not as frequently. While James was glad, at the same time he wanted Harry to continue to long for her; to never forget about her. He would see to it that the boy would never have to wonder about his mother. He would always know how much she loved him. Overall, the routine was settling in. With Remus and Sirius' help, James was able to get through day after day in relatively good shape. He knew that living at Sirius' flat couldn't last forever, but he couldn't think about moving out just yet. It was still too soon to think about being on his own with Harry. Sirius had gone back to work, but Remus spent nearly every day with the Potters; unable to find regular work due to his condition. James was thankful for this; the busier he could be kept the more he was able to hold it together. James had received a letter the previous day from the ministry, offering his old job back, the Auror position he held alongside Sirius before going into hiding with Lily and Harry. But how could he possibly leave Harry for that long? As he sat rocking Harry to sleep for his afternoon nap, he decided he would bring the subject up with Remus. He kissed his sleeping boy's scar as he lay him in his crib, before entering the living room to find the man he was looking for sitting on the sofa reading the paper.

Sitting down across from him, James sighed, causing Remus to put down the paper. "No problems falling asleep today, I take it?"

"No," James chuckled, "he's all tuckered out, the trip to London did him in, but it was nice to get out for awhile."

"You've been cooped up here for too long, I think we should try to go out more often, it's good for both of you," Remus agreed.

James hesitated, not sure if he wanted the man's opinion, afraid of what he'd say; but he knew he needed an opinion besides his own and now seemed as good a time as any. "I wanted to talk to you about something on those lines, actually," James said, as Remus perked, looking interested. "I got a letter from the ministry," James pressed on, "they offered me my old job back. I'm hesitant, though. I'd like to get back to work, have a change of pace and actually be doing something to fight back for what was taken from me, but I can't imagine leaving Harry all day," James admitted, and continued, "he has to come first, and we have enough to live on for now. I can afford to take a little more time. I'm leaning toward turning it down, I just wanted to know what you thought."

Remus sighed, silent for a few minutes, deep in thought. "If you want my opinion," he finally said, looking up at James, who nodded for him to continue, "it might seem too early for you, and I know how hard it'll be to leave Harry, but the sooner you can get him back into a regular routine the easier it will be for both of you. You have enough to live on for now, but not if you want to buy a house; and you know this flat is too small for you to be raising a growing boy in." James nodded in agreement, about to speak again when Remus continued. "You have to do what's right for you, and if you feel like it's too soon, then wait. I'm just saying I think it would be good for you both to continue on with your life. You can't live the way you are now, you have to do something. Lily would have wanted you to, don't you think?"

James nodded, but was silent for a few minutes. Remus was right, he knew it, but he still couldn't imagine leaving his son all day. "I don't suppose she would have," he answered his friend, "she would have wanted me to raise him as normally as I could. And being an Auror, it would be doing something to fight back; even if it doesn't lead me to Peter, I would be doing something against the dark side that split apart my family. I just can't imagine leaving him."

Remus nodded his understanding, feeling the same way about fighting back, and hating that he couldn't do more; but he could see that being there for his friend was helping in a big way right now. "I'd be happy to watch him while you're gone, I'd love to spend time with him," Remus offered, "you wouldn't have to worry about him, and we can find someone to take him during the full moon; perhaps the Longbottoms; they have a boy his age. He'd be perfectly fine."

James agreed, reluctantly, to give it a trial period. He wrote back to the ministry that he could start in two weeks time, beginning right after Christmas; and they agreed to give him a month long trial period before agreeing to anything more permanent.


	3. Christmas

**This was just a little something I wrote because it popped into my head. I wasn't even going to post it because it really doesn't have a purpose in the story line, but I figured it shows a little more of Harry's personality and I left ya'll waiting with that last one. Hope you enjoy :)**

**Elle  
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Christmas was difficult for James, without Lily, but he tried to make it as cheerful a day as possible for Harry. The boy was loaded down with a multitude of gifts, but cared more for the packaging then any of the gifts he'd opened. He walked past a child's Quidditch set and a set of colorful, floating rings, ignoring both but laughing hysterically at the box he was wearing on his head and the wrapping paper he was enjoying throwing at the men sitting on the floor around him, trying to get him to notice the toys on the floor. Eventually, they gave up and humored the boy's preference for wrapping paper. After a thorough "wrapping paper fight," James picked up his son and brought him upstairs to change for Christmas. They were going to spend the day with Sirius' cousin, Andromeda, her husband Ted and their daughter.

James placed Harry on the floor to get his Christmas outfit. Harry, full of energy, blasted out into the hall as soon as he was put down, causing James to have to chase after him. He was able to pin the boy down to take off his diaper, before Harry again squirmed out from under him and made it into the living room, stark naked, before James caught up with him. Sirius and Remus couldn't help but laugh at their poor friend as he chased his son three times into the living room before finally magicking the clothes onto his wild child. Lily held strong to the belief that they not use magic for every day parenting and household chores; having grown up as a muggle she wanted Harry to appreciate the muggle way, not depending on magic for every little thing; and James tried hard to honor her belief. But, desperate times called for desperate measures, and he wasn't sure how muggles managed to dress their 17 month olds on high energy days like today!

James attempted to flatten Harry's hair, but quickly relented. Harry kept squirming away, and he knew the pointlessness of it anyway; Harry had inherited his own hair.

"There now," James said, picking up his son and hugging him, "are you ready to visit Ted and Andromeda? I know they're looking forward to seeing you, you've grown so big since you've seen them last! And you know how Nymphadora loves you," he told his little boy, knowing full well that Harry had no idea what he was talking about.

Sure enough, Harry answered with his new favorite word, an enthusiastic "NO NO NO NO NO!" James laughed and responded, "Yes yes yes yes yes!" He put his son down in the now wrapping paper free living room, that Remus and Sirius had cleaned while James dressed his wild child, and went to take a shower. Harry again, ignored his new toys, but immediately began looking for the paper. He held his hands to his side and looked at his uncles. "Oh no?" he said, "oh no!" as he looked behind toys for the missing paper. Remus quickly sat down with the boy, allowing Sirius to finish getting ready to go to his cousins' house, and attempted to distract Harry with other toys. Harry thwarted all attempts, and started crying for his paper; which quickly escalated into a meltdown. Remus tried to involve Harry with other toys, but the baby was having none of it. He finally summoned the paper, but Harry was so involved in his tantrum he wanted nothing to do with the paper. Remus was amazed at how quickly the toddler could go from being rambunctious and happy, to having a complete meltdown. Having never dealt with Harry in this state, he had no idea what to do, but tried to comfort the baby. He picked him up but upon feeling teeth sink into his forearm, he quickly put him down deciding that waiting for James would be the safer option.

James could hear his son screaming from his shower, and while his first reflex was to run to the baby, he decided that Remus could deal with it and relished in his moment of solitude. When Harry's screams continued for several more minutes, James quickly dressed and went to the living room to see Harry laying on the ground crying his head off, and Remus sitting on the couch watching.

"What happened?" he asked, in wonderment as to why Remus was simply watching Harry carry on. He lifted Harry, who, realizing he was now in his father's arms, quickly relaxed.

"He started screaming when he realized the paper was gone," Remus explained. "I tried to distract him and it got worse, so I gave him the paper, but he wouldn't stop and bit me when I tried to comfort him, so I decided to wait it out."

James had to chuckle at the thought of his 17 month old getting the best of his grown friend, but his son had been having these meltdowns more frequently the past week or so. He did hope his son would outgrow the tantrums before too long; this was Lily's forte, he always knew he could handle anything fatherhood threw at him with her help. Doing it alone was more difficult then he could imagine. When Harry was calm, James put him on the kitchen counter and mopped up his face. Sirius entered the kitchen, ready to go, and James was relieved. It was best for all around if they get Harry out of the house before he wanted to play with the paper again.

Sirius flooed first, followed by James and Harry, then Remus. The Tonks family greeted them warmly as they stepped out of the fire place, offering them biscuits and tea.

Ted gently took Harry from his father's arms. "There's little Harry," he said as he tossed him in the air to the delight of the child. "Not so little anymore, are you tyke? Your getting to be quite the big boy!" Harry laughed and grabbed the older man's glasses, throwing them to the floor, then pinching his nose. James couldn't help but laugh at his son's antics. Ted placed Harry on the floor, who immediately ran to the coffee table where the biscuits were sitting out and grabbed a handful. Andromeda giggled, but apologized for putting the cookies within reach of the baby. Harry crawled under the table and snacked on one cookie while crunching the other in his fist and laughing at how it made crumbs. Before long he had taken up running back and forth from one end of the room to the other, deciding it was fun to crash into the padded chair and fall backwards.

14 year old Nymphadora finally descended the stairs after the guests had arrived, sporting bright green hair in honor of Christmas. On the last step she tripped over her own foot and flopped onto the floor, much to the delight of Harry. Remus jumped to his feet to help her up. "Are you alright?" he inquired.

"Fine," Dora replied, her face blushing bright red in embarrassment. "I just tripped is all.

"Bit of a clutz, our Dora," Ted said, jovially. Dora blushed even redder and looked away, as Harry clapped and yelled "More!" The little boy had a way of bringing her out of her embarrassment, and she sat down on the floor in front of him. "You think that's funny, kid?" she asked before tickling him mercilessly. The next half hour or so was spent with the adults engaged in conversation, and Dora changing her hair color and nose shape for the amusement of Harry, who continued to clap and laugh "more!" At last, dinner was served, a feast of ham with all the fixings, delicious to the last drop.

James was thankful that the Tonks' hadn't wrapped their gifts with Christmas wrapping, not looking forward to dragging Harry away from the paper when it was time, but Harry still enjoyed the box his new building blocks had come in over the blocks themselves. James supposed Harry would learn to play with his toys once he was away from the boxes. His first encounter with giving his son wrapped gifts had been interesting to say the least, and he hoped that for Harry's second birthday he'd be more interested in the toys.

It was with full bellies and happy spirits that the Marauders and a sleeping Harry left the Tonks' residence. James had had a delightful day, despite his missing Lily. It was truly the lightest he'd felt since October, and he was glad he could still feel this way without his love; though guilt lingered with that feeling. He did hope Harry would be a little less rambunctious tomorrow; that today's rambunctiousness was a result of the excitement of the holiday and the lack of a nap he'd had today (and oh, did James now realize the importance of that afternoon nap!) and had less to do with his age; but something told him otherwise.


	4. Back to Work

**Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad people are enjoying this story! A few people mentioned the age difference between Remus and Tonks. It was actually accidental, but I decided to work with it instead of going back to change it. Thanks for pointing it out!**

James paced the living room back and forth, back and forth. The time was 4:30am, but he couldn't sleep. Today was to be his first day back at work; leaving his son for the first time since he lost his wife 8 weeks ago. Truthfully it still felt far too soon, but he knew he eventually had to get his son back on a schedule; develop some sense of routine, and better sooner than later. He watched as the minutes ticked by, from 4:45 to 5:00, when he allowed himself to take a shower and dress, until finally Harry awoke at 5:30, and Sirius shortly afterward. As they were all sitting down for breakfast, Remus came through the floo, ready for a full day with his favorite little tyke.

James and Sirius finally flooed to the ministry at 7. James felt an odd sense of de ja vu as he entered the auror corridors that he'd entered so many times before. It was as if no time had passed since he'd quit his job months ago. Everything looked the same, but somehow brighter; the focus no longer being on stopping Voldemort, but on catching as many of his remaining followers as possible. James was welcomed back with open arms, everyone overjoyed to see him.

James was assigned to Kingsley Shacklebolt's team, including himself, Sirius, and Frank Longbottom; he was grateful to be assigned to the same team he had left those months before, they worked well together. His replacement had apparently never worked well with the rest of the team, and they had no qualms with transferring him to another.

"Alice was excited when I told her you were coming back to work," Frank told him as the team sat down to lunch. It had been a boring morning, consisting primarily of James getting settled back in his office and several floo calls to Sirius' home to check on Harry. The afternoon promised more excitement as James would be briefed on what the team was facing. "She's been worried sick about you. She insists Harry and Neville have a play date, and soon," Frank continued. James nodded his agreement, "Harry would like that," he said, taking a bite of his sandwich. But he wasn't sure how much he himself would like it. Lily and Alice had been best friends for years; two peas in a pod. They had been pregnant together, given birth within weeks of each other, and always said their boys would grow up together. Alice would remind him too much of Lily.

"Why don't you and Harry join us for dinner tonight? Alice would love it," Frank persisted. James wanted to get up and walk away from his well-meaning friend. He didn't want to spend time with the family that reminded him so much of his own; not when his own was no longer in tact. Didn't Frank realize that?

"Not tonight," he said simply.

"Well, another time then," Frank replied; to which James said nothing. He got up and threw his unfinished lunch into the rubbish bin before heading back to his cubicle. He wanted to floo call Remus again, but Remus had told him under no uncertain terms that James wasn't to call back unless it was an emergency…he'd already called 4 times before lunch.

He had barely entered when he was joined by Alastor Moody. "I'd been hoping you'd rejoin us," the older man told the younger, clapping him on the back. "I was sorry to see you go; a young man with more Auror potential then you, I've never met." James gave him a small smile, before Moody continued. "Constant vigilance, it's what I've always said, and I'm sorry that you had to learn that in such a foul way. Never let your guard down. It's a lesson learnt the hard way. We're glad to have you back." With that, Moody left James' cubicle and stalked away, leaving a startled James staring after him. Of all the things he didn't need to be reminded of, _this_ was at the top of his list. He did NOT need to be reminded that he had let his guard down with Peter, trusted the wrong person, and where that had left him. He was sure the older man had meant to compliment him, to welcome him back, and to give his sympathy but right now James felt nothing but rage. Did he have to be reminded so blatantly of his mistakes on the day he returned to work? Sirius poked his head over the top of his cubicle and looked down at James.

"Don't listen to him, mate, he didn't mean it that way," he said, noting his friends enraged face. At that moment Kingsley called for his team to follow him, and the four men made their way to a conference area to discuss tactics.

The rest of the day went smoothly, but far to slowly for James' liking. He wanted to get back into the crimefighting world, and today that just didn't happen. Hopefully tomorrow would change things. Before he left to go see his son, Frank approached him, "Sure you can't change your mind about dinner tonight?" he asked the man, wanting to help cheer him up and thinking his wife's cooking and the boys playing could do the trick. "I said no, Frank," James replied shortly before stepping into the floo and going home, to Harry nearly knocking him over on his toy broom and Remus laughing at the sight.

"DADA!" Harry screamed, running into the sofa in his momentary lapse of attention. He laughed and jumped up, rushing into James' arms. James lifted him and threw him in the air to the delight of the baby. "Were you a good boy for Uncle Remus?" he asked him. Harry laughed and wrapped his arms around his father's neck.

"He was good as gold," Remus replied. "A little upset after nap that you weren't there, but other then that the day went great. He's a bundle of energy, I'll sleep well tonight," Remus chuckled. James spent the next hour playing with his boy, until Remus called them for dinner.

Later that night, after Harry was put to bed and Remus had left for the night, James sat thinking about how rude he was to Frank; who just wanted to make him happy and welcome him back. He felt bad, and decided to floo his old friend and apologize. He threw powder into the fire and stuck his head through, into the Longbottom's kitchen. For a moment all was quiet, and James thought he and his wife had gone to bed early, until he heard a scream and high pitched evil laughter. James pulled his head out, called and called for Sirius, who came rushing into the room.

"Something's going on at the Longbottoms, I heard screaming and an evil laugh from the other room. I couldn't see whats going on, I'm going over there," he told his best mate, grabbing his wand.

"James!" Sirius said, urgently, before James could get to the fireplace. "Don't go alone! I'll come with you."

"You need to stay with Harry," James replied, before running to the fireplace and quickly flooing through it.

Sirius didn't know what to do; he couldn't leave his Godson unattended, but he also couldn't let his friend go into a dangerous unknown situation alone. Thinking quickly, he rushed upstairs to grab Harry from his crib, waking the baby in his carelessness, and flooed to Remus' place.

"Sirius, what the.." Remus began, but was silenced as Sirius shoved the baby into his arms and said something about going after James, before rushing back through the floo.

Remus, completely flabbergasted and more then a little worried, set about to calming the screaming baby, hating that he could do nothing more right now.


	5. Rescue Mission

_**Thanks for the continued reviews! I love it! I was on a writing spree, so your getting two chapters in one night! Enjoy!**_

James rushed through the kitchen and into the dining room, pausing at the door to the living room, not knowing what was on the other side. Hearing the scream again, he silently opened the door a sliver and peered through, to see his friend and his wife screaming as they flopped in the air, under the torture curse, aimed by the Lastranges. James heard a chuckle outside of his line of sight, which told him there were more than the Lastranges in the room. With no sure idea of how many there were, he knew he was outnumbered, but he also knew that by the time he ran to get help the Longbottoms would be done. Steeling himself, James opened the door and pointed his wand at Bellatrix Lastrange.

"STUPIFY!" he shouted, and she fell to the floor, dropping Alice Longbottom to the ground with a thump, where she lay, panting. The other three death eaters turned to him, Frank dropping as the spell was lifted. James acted quickly, stupefying Rudolphus Lastrange and another death eater he didn't recognize, before he felt pain like he'd never felt before. He refused to scream, but there was nothing like the pain he was feeling now, every bit of his body, inside and out, on fire. He wanted to die. But no! Harry, he would not die, he would not let his son lose another parent!

As suddenly as it started, the pain stopped and James fell down, landing hard on the ground. He rose slowly, shaking, to his feet. He felt OK, the pain only a memory. He looked around to see 6 motionless bodies on the ground, and one upright.

"You alright?" his best mate asked, handing James his wand.

"Yeah," James answered, taking the wand from Sirius. "Where's Harry?"

"I left him with Remus. You scared me, mate." The man went to Frank, crouching next to him, and checking for a pulse. "He's alive," he confirmed, before moving to Alice. "As is she," he reported. James, meanwhile, round up the four death eaters and magically tied them together before sending a patronus to Kingsley Shacklebolt. He heard a baby's cry coming from the upstairs bedroom.

"How does he sleep through all that and wake up now?" he asked, as he took the stairs two at a time, silently praying that the baby was untouched. He entered the nursery where little Neville sat crying in his crib. He picked up the baby, exactly the same age as his own son, and held him tight to his chest, comforting him. He carried Neville downstairs, holding him tight as he entered the living room, so he couldn't see the motionless bodies of his parents.

"He seems fine," he told his mate, "I'm bringing him to Remus, I'll be right back." James went back into the kitchen and flooed to Remus' house, where he found Remus pacing the living room.

"Oh thank Merlin!" Remus exclaimed in relief, pulling James into an embrace. "Don't you dare worry me like that again! I had no idea what to think, Sirius dropping Harry in my lap like that and saying he had to go after you, I was about to send Dumbledore after you if you didn't show up in the next few minutes."

James apologized, shifting Neville into one arm and returning the hug. "Where's Harry?" he asked, pulling away.

"Sleeping in my bed," Remus answered.

"Here, take Neville, see if you can get him to sleep. I need to get back to Sirius," James said, putting Neville in his friend's arms.

Remus noticed Neville for the first time, accepting the bundle into his arms. "What's this, James? What happened?" Remus asked, confused.

"The Longbottoms were attacked, I arrived just in time, possibly too late. I need to get back, I left Sirius there alone, but I had to get Neville out. We'll keep you updated, just watch out for the boys," James said before running back through the floo. Remus was frustrated. Why did they always leave him behind, he wanted to help; he could be of help! He could do more then sit at home and look after the children. He may not be able to get a job because of his status, but that didn't make him useless!

As James re-entered the Longbottom house, he met Kingsley, already there. He had still motionless Frank and Alice on stretchers. "You did well tonight," he said as James entered the room. "Although I'm surprised to see Barty Crouch Jr here; I can't help but think he must have been under the Imperius."

James looked to the man he'd referred to, stupefied and bound to the others. "He's the one who put me under Crucio," James confirmed. "I've seen the Imperius curse before, and Barty Crouch was having far too much fun, he was laughing at the Longbottoms' torture."

"Well, we'll see. I'm sure his father will give him a trial, anyway," Kingsley said. "Where is there baby?"

"Neville is safe, I brought him to Remus Lupin; my son is there," James told his boss.

Kingsley nodded his approval. "If you would please accompany Frank and Alice to St. Mungos," he told James, "Sirius, you can go inform Augusta Longbottom what happened here tonight, and accompany her to St. Mungos as soon as Moody's team arrives to help me with this lot," he ordered. James nodded his agreement and left his best mate with his boss, to bring the Longbottoms to the hospital. He grasped the arms of both his friends, and apparated to the hospital. As he entered the waiting room and shouted for a healer, two came running to him, asking what happened.

"They've been tortured with the Cruciatus curse extensively," James told them before the healers whisked the Longbottoms down the hall, leaving James standing there alone.

The minutes ticked by; James growing ever more anxious, until he saw Sirius and a formidable looking, yet currently frantic elderly woman in her pajamas, running at him. "How are they?" Sirius asked.

"No idea," James said, with a sigh, "they took them back, and haven't told me a word yet."

Augusta Longbottom marched up to the receptionist desk and demanded to know news of her son and daughter in law. The receptionist assured her that someone would be out soon to let them know. Returning to James and Sirius, she sat down in a chair, looking defeated.

"What happened?" she asked of James.

"I was a bit short with him at work today, I called to take him up on dinner another night, and when I flooed into the kitchen I heard a noise in the living room," James went on to explain all that had happened. Augusta stood up and pulled him into a strong embrace for the elderly woman.

"You may have saved Frank and Alice's life; and my grandson. How can I ever thank you?" She asked into James' shoulder.

"It's nothing more than Frank would have done," James responded.

"Your right there, my son is brave," she agreed. "Still, I thank you James."

They broke apart as a healer entered the waiting room calling for someone here for the Longbottoms. The three of them hurried over to be briefed on their condition.

"They are both alive and stable," assured the healer, "Frank is awake and semi-responsive, we think he'll make it through this with limited to no permanent damage. Alice isn't awake yet, there's no telling what kind of functioning she'll have until she wakes up. That's all I can tell you for now, you're welcome to go back and see them," the healer told them before leaving the waiting room. Augusta, Sirius and James followed closely behind.

They entered the room to see Frank lying half reclined in bed, turning his head to them as the door opened. "Mum," he said, "I told them not to but they didn't listen. Please don't be mad, mum," he said as she rushed to him.

"What on earth are you talking about Frank," she asked pulling her son into a hug. James stepped forward, "Neville's alright, Frank. I took him to a friend's house. He's with Harry," James told him.

It worked. Frank looked confused for a moment, "Neville? Who's…" then something seemed to click, "Neville! What happened?" he asked his friends and fellow Aurors.

"You were attacked by death eaters, you don't remember?" Sirius asked, stepping up to Frank's bedside. As Frank shook his head, Sirius continued. "James got there in time to stun Bellatrix and Rudolphus Lastrange away from you and Alice, they were torturing you. I arrived as Barty Crouch Jr had James under the Crucio curse. We weren't sure you two were going to make it, but they didn't touch Neville. Remus is looking after him."

The little color Frank had drained away from his face, "Where's Alice," he asked.

Augusta answered this question, "she's right over there," she told her son, pointing toward his wife's bed, "but she's not awake yet, we won't know anything until she wakes." Frank seemed at a loss for words.

James and Sirius decided to leave him be with his mother. "We'll leave now that we know your alright," he told his friend, "you can leave Neville with us as long as you need, don't worry about him." Augusta nodded, "Thank you. I'll be by for him in the morning," she assured them.

The two men exited, glancing at a still motionless Alice on the way out. They made their way, exhausted, to the floo.


	6. Moving Forward

**_Another quick chapter :) I had a lot of time to write this weekend lol. I actually had to split this chapter down into 3 chapters because it just got way too long and had way too much stuff happening in it, so the next one is already written and should be out shortly, after I double check it and get a few reviews (so more reviews may persuade me to get it out faster!) This is kind of a filler chapter, a little cuteness between the boys, but I had to move things along so I could get to where I wanted to go! Hope you enjoy, please review!_**

**_Also, I'd like to know your opinion. My chapters do tend to be rather short, but I end them at places I feel make sense. Would you rather longer, possibly less frequent chapters (I won't always have this much time to write on weekends!) or short-ish chapters like I've been doing?  
><em>**

**_~Elle~_**

Frank was discharged from the hospital two days later, suffering no more ill effects from the torture. Neville had been with his grandmother for the past few days; Frank was beyond grateful to James for getting him out safely. He stayed by his wife's bedside all day, hoping and praying that she would wake. They were the longest days of his life. Wake, she did; three days after he'd been discharged. She was incoherent at first, muttering unintelligible things. The healers said it may be permanent, only time would tell, but as the weeks went by she was slowly getting better. It took nearly two months, but eventually her mind came back and three weeks later, she was home with her husband and son; no recollection of the week preceding the "event," but other than that back to her normal self. Frank didn't consider it a bad thing she couldn't remember that night, he told her what she needed to know and she realized how lucky she was to be as healthy as she was.

The Potters became very frequent visitors at the Longbottom house, and Harry and Neville loved each other's company. The Potters originally became close with the Longbottoms because of Lily and Alice's sisterlike friendship, but since James had stepped in that fateful night, he and Frank had become very close, not as close as James felt to Sirius and Remus, but close nonetheless. And Alice, as much as she reminded him of Lily, James decided that wasn't a bad thing. Harry needed to be around people who could tell him about his mother.

James stepped back into his position as an Auror without a problem; it was second nature to him. It was the job he was born for. He was awarded the Order of Merlin, 1st class for the capture of 4 dangerous death eaters in a single night, and for saving the lives of a young family. He had one of the best records, young as he was, for catching remaining death eaters at large and catching them alive. Gideon and Fabian Prewett, who James knew from the Order as well as from another team of Aurors, held the record just below Moody's of the most death eaters at large caught, though with a nastier reputation of not always succeeding in bringing them in alive.

Over time, James and Harry settled into a comfortable routine. They moved out of Sirius' flat and James bought a small home in Hogsmeade, with a large backyard that Harry could play in. James was becoming more comfortable in his role as a single father, though he knew he spoiled his boy rotten. Harry was given everything a little boy could want and James was happy to give it to him. He knew in the back of his mind that Lily wouldn't want her son growing up this spoilt, and that bothered him sometimes, but he told himself she would want her son to be happy, and he relished in making his son happy.

Harry seemed to get more rambunctious with every inch he grew. To say he was a handful would be an understatement, still, he was doted on and spoiled by three men who thought the world of him. Oh, he was smart, and by the time he was 2 speaking in semi-full sentences. He spent his day while James was at work alternating between staying with Remus, or at the Longbottom home playing with Neville.

Alice truly didn't mind caring for Harry; she loved the little boy dearly. Generally, Harry was good for her. He knew the rules and consequences in her home. Having each other as frequent playmates taught Harry and Neville to play nicely with each other, and she was even able to get more things done around the house with Harry over, because it kept Neville out from underfoot. Lately however, Harry had entered his terrible twos, and was a right terror; Neville fed off it and joined in. It made for very chaotic days, and the two together made Alice feel outnumbered.

One particularly cold February day when the boys were 2 ½, on Alice's day to keep Harry, the boys were particularly rambunctious. Alice figured it was the lack of time to play outside; she always tried to get them out for a little while, no matter what the weather, but today was just too cold. The boys had a lot of pent up energy. After two hours of the little boys running around nonstop, Alice couldn't take much more. She turned on the muggle telly to a children's program and tried to get the boys to sit down and watch. They complied, and Alice sighed in relief, taking this short quiet opportunity to make herself a spot of tea.

She had barely heated the water when she heard a shout from the other room, followed by a bang and a cry, and rushed to investigate. She found a bookshelf turned over, and Harry sitting next to it crying. She rushed to the little boy and picked him up.

"What happened?" she asked the child.

"I don't fly!" exclaimed Harry, crying in response.

"Of course you don't fly! You're a little boy, not an owl!" Alice told her young charge. "Where does it hurt?" she asked gently, to which Harry indicated his arm and his head. Alice checked over the wound and determined that Harry was more shook up then hurt, kissed the indicated areas, and put him down, telling him under no uncertain terms that he was not to try flying again. Harry nodded enthusiastically, not wanting to fall again. Alice breathed out a sigh of relief, grateful that Harry's fall had been minor. Trying to fly without a broom, it could have been a lot worse! She sat on the couch as the boys settled into their interactive program, dancing along with it, and summoned her tea from the kitchen. She wasn't about to leave these two for another second!

A short time later, Alice heard a call from the floo in the kitchen. Checking that the boys were alright, she entered the kitchen to find Franks' head. "We've got a solid lead on some hiding death eaters," he told her quickly. "We'll probably be out late. James wants to know if you can keep Harry overnight," he enquired of his wife.

Alice nodded her consent and told him to "be safe" before he quickly left and she retreated back to the living room, just in time to see Harry push Neville to the floor and take his bear. "Mine!" shouted the boy.

"Harry Potter!" Alice scolded, taking the bear from him and handing it back to Neville, "you don't take toys away and you don't push!" she said, leading him to the time-out chair by the wall. Harry screamed as she tried to sit him in it, and immediately stood up, making Alice grab him to place him back in the chair, finally succeeding in finishing the time out after several more escape attempts. Barely 20 minutes after that she had to repeat the process with Neville for biting. The day progressed without any improvement.

By lunch, Alice was exhausted, and planned to take a nap right along with the boys. When she awoke an hour later, it was to find Neville's bedroom empty. She could have sworn she turned on the alarms that would wake her when they awoke! She began to search the house, calling their names and getting more frantic by the second. She noticed the chill as she passed the entryway and found the door open. Her heart rate raced as she threw on her shoes and stepped outside, to notice little footprints in the snow only right around the door, the snow messed, and nothing else. Her first thought was that someone had taken the boys from the front stoop, but she realized that was impossible. Since the death eater attack, the Longbottoms had tight security around their property. Alice would know if anyone got inside the perimeters. That left one option, she thought as she turned back into the house and closed the door. She finally found that the boys had made a slippery mess with snow in the kitchen, and were enjoying sliding around.

By the time James and Frank arrived home late, after the boys were fast asleep, Alice had fallen asleep on the couch waiting up for them. Frank gently shook her awake to let her know they were home.

"How was your day?" he asked her.

"Kids are born one at a time for a reason," she responded, as she got up and made her way to her bedroom. Frank chuckled and turned to James, advising him to crash on the couch rather than wake his sleeping child, before following after his wife.

Harry's third birthday came and went; they had a party for Harry and Neville combined with close friends; not huge, but the boys didn't care. They loved all the attention and gifts. This time, Harry was more interested in the toys inside, and discarded the box without a care. Both boys made out generously with their gifts, which sent two very happy three year olds home that night.


	7. Fallen Comrades

**_Another chapter in honor of all THREE of my teams kicking A$$ this weekend! This will probably be it until next weekend as I work crazy hours this week!_**

Summer progressed into fall, and a day near the end of September started out like any other. James woke up, showered and dressed before he went to wake Harry. He sighed and grit his teeth as he realized the mood Harry was in today.

He and Harry argued about what outfit Harry would wear today; "I wanna wear my SHORTS" demanded Harry, as James insisted on a pair of jeans, "It's cold, Harry, it's not summer anymore!"

He and Harry argued about what toys Harry would be bringing to the Longbottom's house: "Shrink 'em all, daddy, I wanna bring them all!" Harry insisted. "You can bring what fits in your day bag regular sized, Harry. Neville has more toys then you play with anyway."

They argued about what Harry would eat for breakfast, "I want ICE CREAM, please daddy? I never get ice cream for breakfast!" Harry begged. "Ice cream is a special treat food, not breakfast. You may have oatmeal or pancakes, what'll it be?"

They argued about Harry brushing his teeth, "But they're just gonna get dirty again daddy, I eat lunch later!" Harry tried to reason.

When the clock finally signaled it was an appropriate time to leave for the Longbottoms, James was relieved. He was tired of fighting with his son over every single part of getting ready for the day.

They flooed to the Longbottoms, to find Frank, Alice, and Neville finishing their breakfast. Harry ran over to Alice, excited to show her the new Chuddley Cannon's seeker action figure his Godfather bought him. Alice examined it, telling Harry how lucky he was to have gotten such a neat gift.

"I wanna see!" Neville exclaimed.

"Look, but you can't touch. It's for Harry hands only," Harry told his friend, holding the toy out of his reach.

James sighed, "Harry if you didn't want to share it you shouldn't have brought it. You either share or I'll bring it to work with me and you can have it back tonight," he warned his son. It was fine that Harry had toys he didn't want to share, but he knew that the toys he brought with him to Neville's he was expected to share.

James sat down to have a cup of coffee with Frank and Alice before it was time to go to work, as the boys ran into the living room to play. He was pleased to hear happy voices from the other room and hoped that Harry's mood would quickly change now that he was with his best friend.

Checking the clock, James and Frank went to give their sons a hug and kiss goodbye before leaving. On their way through the kitchen James gave Alice a quick hug, "You can expect Remus, Sirius and I for dinner tonight Alice," he told her before going to the floo. "Good! I'll look forward to it!" Alice replied waving them off and heading back to the living room to play with the two preschoolers.

The morning went well; the team apprehended two wizards selling dark objects disguised as toys to children, they got a lead on several death eaters they were after.

It was during lunch that they got the alarm; fellow Aurors in urgent need of help! Kingsley's team rushed to the scene just as the three death eaters began to scatter, leaving four bodies on the ground. The team shot spells at them, and a battle began.

James tripped over one of the bodies as he dodged a curse thrown at him by Antonin Dolohov, and he recognized him as Fabian Prewett. He stole a glance at another, close by, and saw his brother Gideon, his eyes staring into nothingness. The two other bodies were death eaters, obviously taken out by the Prewitt brothers before their demise.

James jumped up and threw a curse at Dolohov, missing him by an inch. Dolohov threw a killing curse over his shoulder; James dodged it and it hit the death eater behind him, who fell to the ground and saw no more.

Sirius flew past him, seemingly blasted by the wand of the other remaining death eater, and right into the path of purple flames cast from Dolohov's wand. Sirius fell to the ground, unconscious, but James didn't think he was dead. But he couldn't stop, he couldn't be distracted even for a second or it would mean his life. There were now only two death eaters left, and Frank joined James in his battle against Dolohov, while Kingsley on his own tried to take down the other.

James tried to stupefy Dolohov, who blocked it and sent the same purple flames that had injured Sirius at James, which James rebound back to Dolohov, who blocked it. From the other side, Frank threw his own spells at Dolohov, who, practiced dueller as he was, blocked as well.

"James DUCK!" Frank yelled, and James followed his order without thinking as another killing curse soared over his head. In his moment of distraction, a well aimed nonverbal Crucio caught James before he had time to stop it, and he was thrown into the air, screaming in pain. As Dolohov had to release the curse to block another that Frank sent his way, James went crashing to the ground. He felt the bone in his leg shatter under the weight of his body.

Adrenaline at it's peak, James forced himself up despite his right leg, and supported himself fully on his left. He defected a curse sent at Frank, who threw one right back at Dolohov. James was blasted off his feet by a spell that hit him from behind; he could only assume by the death eater Kingsley was battling. He could feel what felt like his insides melting, the pain challenged that of the Cruciatus curse. He could barely breathe, could barely move, but he force himself up onto his arms.

He saw it happening before it did, and in a desperate attempt James used all his remaining energy to throw the full body bind at Dolohov just as Dolohov threw the killing curse at Frank.

Dolohov and Frank fell to the ground at the exact same time, both lay motionless, eyes open, a surprised look on their both their faces.

The other death eater's momentary distraction at what had just occurred gave Kingsley the opportunity he needed to stun him, and all death eaters were down.

James could hear a scream and was surprised when he realized it was coming from his own mouth, outside of his control. He could barely move, he was too badly injured, but he feared Sirius was worse. He couldn't peal his eyes off the man laying 20 feet from him; one of his dear friends.

Kingsley quickly bound and gagged the two living death eaters together, before assessing the situation in front of him. He tried with all his might to put all emotions aside.

One of his best men died today, and he couldn't be sure Sirius would pull through; he'd seen what that spell of Dolohov's could do, and knew it had potential to be lethal. As for James, he had no clue what the man had been hit with, or how dangerous the curse was.

He sent a patronus to St. Mungos, followed by one to Alastor Moody, to come assist urgently, before rushing to Sirius' side. He carefully turned the man to his back, and felt for a pulse. There was one, and Kingsley allowed himself a breath. Sirius seemed OK for now; unconscious, but nothing Kingsley could do would make a difference, so he turned his attention to James. He purposely knelt next to him between him and Frank, blocking James' view of his fallen friend.

Kingsley used his training to check James' vitals; his pulse was slow. Kingsley hoped the healers from St. Mungos would hurry, because he didn't think he could safely transport James, not knowing the extent of his injuries.

"You'll be just fine," he told the younger man, pulling off his outer robes and covering James, who was shivering.

"Frank," James said, and Kingsley simply nodded, he had no words. "Sirius," James inquired. "He's alive. Unconscious, he'll need St. Mungos, but his pulse is steady," Kingsley was happy he could reassure his friend on that, at least.

James felt slightly reassured that Sirius, at least would be alright. He was having trouble staying in consciousness, but he felt he had to. He was in pain, and he felt completely immobilized. He couldn't leave Harry. At last, James no longer had the control, and drifted into unconsciousness.

The healers arrived seconds later, and brought the young Aurors back to St. Mungos. Moody arrived to take care of the bound and gagged death eaters, and corners arrived to escort the bodies of Fabian, Gideon, Frank, and the 3 death eaters to the morgue of St. Mungos. Kingsley escorted the two injured of his team to the hospital, where was forced to wait in the waiting room for some word.

This was too much for him; somebody had to tell Alice that her husband was killed, and it had best come from someone close to the man, but he couldn't bring himself to do it; especially not when the other 2 men on his team where gravely injured. He made his way to the floo, thinking that Remus, at least, would want to be here.

Remus was in the bedroom when he heard a voice shouting to him from the floo, and hurried to respond. He was taken aback at seeing Kingsley Shacklebolt's distraught face poking out of the fire, which turned into shock at what he heard come out of Kingsley's mouth.

"I'm at St. Mungos, we got into a battle with some death eaters, Sirius and James were both severely injured, you should come through," the head said.

Remus jumped into action as Kingsley disappeared, and practically ran through the floo, into the waiting room of St. Mungos. "Where are they?" he asked the older man.

"With the healers; no word yet," Kingsley replied, impatient for the healers to come and tell them what was happening.

"What happened?" Remus asked. Kingsley told him everything, and the shock in Remus' arms grew.

"Franks…dead?" he asked in shock, "does Alice know? She has Harry…"

Kingsley shook his head. "I'll go tell her as soon as we get word on James and Sirius," he said.

"I'll go too, pick up Harry, and Neville too if she wants me to take him," Remus added.

At that moment, a healer came in and walked straight over to Kingsley and Remus. "How are they?" Remus asked.

"Sirius will be fine," the healer assured. "He'll need to stay here for a week or so for treatment, but there will be no long term affects."

Remus and Kingsley both breathed out huge sighs of relief. "What about James?" Kingsley asked

"We're not sure what he was hit with," the healer admitted, "you're sure you can't tell us?" Kingsley shook his head in answer, and the healer continued, "well, there was a great deal of internal damage, but he's been given a wide variety of healing potions that should mend him. He'll need to stay here, possibly for a few weeks. He'll make it as long as the curse he was hit with doesn't counteract the healing potions. It would help if we knew what he was hit with," the healer explained.

Remus nodded, "Can we see them," he asked.

"You may," the healer allowed, "but they've both been given sleeping potions. It'll be awhile before they're awake."

Kingsley thanked the healer and they both shook his hand, before the healer left to check on more patients.

Kingsley put his hand on Remus' shoulder, squeezing it in comfort. "They'll be alright," he told him, repeating the healer. Remus nodded, allowing a few tears of relief, and grief, fall from his face.

"We shouldn't keep Alice in the dark. We need to go tell her now," Remus told the Auror. Kingsley nodded, and the pair made their way to the floo.

Alice was just about to wake the boys up from their nap when the floo roared to life and her husband's boss, followed by Remus, stepped through. "Whats this?" she asked, expecting the other three members of the team, her husband included, step through the floo next.

"Where are the boys?" Remus asked, motioning for her to follow them to the living room when she told them the boys were still napping.

Kingsley told her as gently as he could what had happened that afternoon, in the span of just a few hours. How do you tell someone their husband is gone? This wasn't the first time Kingsley had to do it, but it was the first time he was as close as he was to the victim.

Remus held her close as Alice collapsed into his arms. How could it be? She'd just spoken to him before lunch! Just 4 hours ago! It couldn't be true! It was someone's idea of a horrible joke!

They sat like that for what seemed like hours, until a squeal was heard from upstairs. The boys were up, and she somehow had to tell her 3 year old son that daddy wasn't coming home.


	8. The New Normal

_**Sorry for the delay folks! My internship likes to keep me busy! This chapter is a lot longer then normal, and also kind of a grief filled chapter. I know there's been a lot of that so far, but I think this is pretty much the end of that! Hope you enjoy! Please R&R! I get excited when I get a favorite story or subscribe email, but I get even more excited when I get a review email! I try to respond to all my reviews, if I miss you I apologize! But there is always a general thank you!**_

_**~Elle~**_

_3 weeks later_

Harry lay in his bed…no, not _his _bed, but the bed that Uncle Remus had transfigured for him to use while he was here…_his_ bed was at home; but nonetheless he lay thinking about all the scary and confusing things that had been happening since his uncle picked him up at the Longbottoms instead of his daddy, what felt like _ages_ ago. Harry wondered if it was too early to go downstairs. The clock had a 5 at the beginning, and Harry knew it had to be a 6 at the beginning before he was supposed to go downstairs unless someone came to get him earlier. That was Uncle Remus' rule after Harry had tried to make breakfast at 5am all by himself, two mornings in a row. Harry looked up at the stars on the ceiling, bewitched there to make Harry feel like he was back in his own bedroom, but it could just never be just like his own bedroom, even if they copied the stars.

Harry wanted his daddy back. His daddy looked OK to him today; he'd hugged him tightly, given him a big smile, and told him how much he missed him, but he had to stay at the hospital. Uncle Sirius got hurt too, but Uncle Sirius got to go home a whole entire week ago, and he was fine! He even came to stay with Harry for a few days because Uncle Remus was sick. That got Harry worried, he hoped Uncle Remus didn't have to go to the hospital like his daddy; after all didn't sick people normally stay home? But Uncle Remus returned good as new shortly. Uncle Remus said Daddy was a lot sicker then Uncle Sirius. Daddy seemed OK when Harry was there, but he was sick inside and his medicine wasn't working. But if that was true why did Daddy look so normal?

Harry didn't understand; his daddy looked perfectly fine, why couldn't he go home so that Harry could go home, too? Not that Harry disliked staying at Uncle Remus' house, he loved his Uncle Remus! But Uncle Remus didn't make the same voices as his daddy did during bedtime reading. And Uncle Remus never remembered that Harry didn't like crust on his sandwiches; of course it wasn't hard to take off once Harry reminded him, but his daddy always took the crust off before even giving the sandwich to Harry. And when there was a monster under Harry's bed, Uncle Remus looked in all the closets and under the bed to show Harry that the monster was gone, but he didn't fight the invisible monsters the way his daddy would have, to make sure that Harry's room was a completely monster-free zone. Yes, Harry missed his daddy, and he was anxious for his daddy to come home.

Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by a tickling in his tummy. Uh-oh, he knew that feeling! He jumped out of bed and raced across the hallway to the loo, where he relieved himself, washed his hands, and went back to "his" room. He looked at the clock; still a 5. Harry sighed, and curled back up underneath the sheets, and his thoughts went back to their meanderings.

There were other things that bothered Harry too; like why was Auntie Alice sad every time he saw her? Why did she keep leaving Neville with Remus and going off by herself? When Harry tried to hug her and make her happy again, she gave him a quick hug and hurried off. Not at all like her normal ginormous hugs. Harry knew Auntie Alice was sad because Uncle Frank had to go to heaven; and he knew what heaven was because that's where his Mummy was. Heaven was where good people went when they had to leave earth. Harry couldn't see his Mummy in heaven, but he knew his Mummy was looking down on him and watching over him, because that's what people did once they went to heaven. Harry also knew that he could talk to his Mummy in heaven; he did that all the time! She never answered him back, of course, but Harry knew she could hear him; his Daddy had told him so.

Neville was sad, too. He still played like normally sometimes, but sometimes Neville would start to cry because he missed his Daddy, or because his Mummy was upset, or because he missed sleeping at his own house, or because his Mummy dropped him off by Uncle Remus' again, and Neville didn't want to be with Remus, he wanted to be with her. Harry had tried to comfort him. He told him about his Mummy and what heaven was. But Neville just said that his daddy didn't really go to heaven forever, he was just visiting Harry's mummy because he missed her. He would be back, soon; after all he promised to take Neville flying and Neville's daddy never broke a promise. Neville just hoped that it was really soon, because he missed him!

Harry wondered if this was true; he wished he could go and visit his Mummy too. If Uncle Frank really was coming back (and Neville seemed sure of it!) maybe he could tell Harry she was like, and what heaven was like, and if she was happy, and if she was proud of him.

Harry's tummy growled loudly, and pulled him out of his thoughts. He turned to the clock once again, just as the number 5 turned into the number 6! Harry jumped out of bed and put on his socks, before racing through the hallway and into the empty kitchen.

"Uncle Remus?" Harry called out softly, to no answer. He tried a little louder, "Uncle Remus!" again, to no answer. Harry contemplated trying to make himself breakfast again, but Uncle Remus hadn't liked it very much when he did that last time. But it was waking-up time, and Uncle Remus didn't wake-up yet. And Harry was hungry! So Harry turned on his heel and raced back to his Uncle's room, loudly slamming open the door and pouncing on top of the mass under the covers that was his sleeping uncle.

Harry heard Remus groan from underneath the covers, and decided that bouncing would be a good way to get him out of bed faster; so sitting on top of his uncle he started bouncing slightly, then harder, until he was practically jumping.

"Wake up sleepyhead! It's morning!" Harry shouted, "and I'm hungry!" he added. Pretty soon Harry felt himself being thrown backward onto the bed, before the tickles started. Harry loved tickles, and he laughed as his uncle pulled himself up over Harry and pulled his arms up over his head for better access to the tickling of Harry's armpits. Harry squealed in delight and hysteria as he kicked his little legs at his uncle's stomach, to no effect. Finally, Remus stopped the tickles, threw Harry over his shoulder, and made his way to the kitchen to feed the hungry little boy.

"Is daddy coming home today?" Harry asked, the same question he asked every morning, as he was placed on his bum on the tabletop.

"Not today, bub," came the usual reply as Remus began pulling out supplies for pancakes. True to Lily's wishes not to have Harry grow up dependent on magic and understand the value of the muggle way, Remus was on board with using as little magic for every day household things as possible.

"When will he?" Harry asked, as per usual.

"The healers don't know yet, hopefully soon, I know he's anxious to get home to you," Remus answered, as always.

"Will we go visit him today?" came the next question as Harry moved farther toward the middle of the table, and sat cross legged.

"This morning Neville is coming over," Remus replied. "Uncle Sirius will take you this afternoon if he's still here."

Harry nodded his agreement, as he picked up the pepper shaker and shook some pepper into his open palm. "When is Neville coming?"

Remus finished stirring the batter, and set it aside as the grittle heated up. He decided to surprise Harry and snuck out a bag of chocolate chips, and dumped it into the batter. "After breakfast sometime," Remus replied, not completely sure what time that would be.

Harry brought his hand up, and then quickly dropped it and watched as the tiny pepper flakes flew up and then landed back on his hand, while a few fell to the sides. "Neville is sad when Auntie goes away," Harry verbalized his observation, "he wants to go with her." Harry blew the pepper flakes out of his hand, and they scattered in front of him. He picked up the pepper shaker again and dumped more flakes into his palm.

Remus sighed; he wondered how a 3 year old could pick up on something like that. He never ceased to be amazed at Harry's intelligence, and his vocabulary. He also knew Harry was correct; Neville didn't like being left here while his mother did whatever it was she did all day. He wanted to say something to her, but didn't know how to bring it up. Alice was grieving; everyone grieved in their own way and Remus figured Alice just needed a little space right now. He didn't want to stick his nose in where it didn't belong, or make her feel like he's telling her what to do; but at the same time it had been 3 weeks and she left Neville with him every single day since then apart from when he was away for the full moon; even overnight twice. Remus recalled James not wanting to part from Harry even for a moment, after Lily's death. Remus recalled having to drag James off to bed to get the man to sleep. Remus did his best with Neville every day; but he knew it was his mother that the boy really needed. He'd lost one parent, he needed some familiarity. But he couldn't very well refuse to take the boy.

"Neville misses his daddy too," Harry continued when Remus didn't respond. "He cries, lots." Harry continued to play with the pepper shaker as Remus focused on the pancakes, not knowing quite what to say at this observation. Harry was silent for a moment, before verbalizing the thing he'd been wondering about.

"Neville said his Daddy's not in heaven forever like my Mummy, he went to visit her and he's coming home, why can't Mummy come home?" Harry asked his uncle as he continued to fill his palm with pepper. The smell made him want to sneeze, so he quickly closed his palms together so he didn't make a mess with the flakes.

Remus was shocked at this. How had Neville come up with that? And what in Marlin's name was he supposed to do about it? As little as he wanted to have this conversation right now, he knew he must. Remus turned toward Harry, sitting cross legged in the middle of the table with his hands clasped on his lap, big green eyes looking so innocently up at Remus. He went to the table and leaned down on his elbows, so he was eye-to-eye with Harry.

"He's not coming back, Harry," Remus told him gently.

"But he promised to take Neville flying!" protested Harry. Neville's daddy never broke a promise! That had to settle it!

"Sometimes bad things happen; sometimes people get hurt. Uncle Frank didn't want to leave his family, but sometimes we can't control things," Remus attempted to explain.

"But he promised to take Neville flying!" Harry repeated.

"I know, bub," Remus said, leaning forward to kiss Harry on the forehead. He wasn't sure how else to explain this, and he didn't even want to start with Neville; Neville needed to hear this from his mother. And he decided at that moment that Alice wasn't leaving Neville today.

"He's really not coming back?" Asked Harry, sadly, and continued at Remus' sad nod, "He's with Mummy? She will take good care of him," Harry told his uncle. "Mummy's are good at that. Tell Auntie that."

Remus chuckled and ruffled his nephew's hair. "You are the sweetest boy I ever met," he told the tyke, fondly, before a smell got his attention. He turned back to the now burned pancakes, and threw the batch away, before ladling new ones. Magic sure would make this easier! But if muggles could do it, so could he.

Harry opened his fist full of pepper flakes, and with his free hand he stuck his finger in the middle. Harry liked pepper…Daddy sometimes put it on his food and it tasted good. Harry pulled out his finger, opened his mouth, and clapped the hand full of pepper into his open mouth. For the first second he felt nothing, and closed his lips. Then his mouth started burning, it was HOT! He tried to swallow but his throat wouldn't work. His tears in his eyes were a mixture of watery eyes and crying tears. He couldn't breathe! He opened his lips and coughed, causing a dust of pepper to fly out of his mouth, but there was still enough in his mouth to hurt. He cried out to get his uncle's attention, who quickly turned at the sound and rushed to Harry's assistance. The strong arms lifted Harry off the table, and placed him on the counter, before a glass of water was touching his lips. The strong arms tilted Harry's head back and he allowed the water into his mouth.

"Swish and spit, just like mouth wash," Harry's uncle told him. Harry obeyed, and swished the water in his mouth before spitting it into the sink. He could breathe again! But his mouth was still very hot. He reached for the water again, and Remus let him have it. Harry swished it around, once again, before spitting it into the sink. "It's hot, Uncle Remus!" he exclaimed through the fat tears that rolled down his cheeks. His uncle handed him a cup of milk, instead, which Harry downed, immediately asking for more. Remus obliged, and Harry downed a second cup. Harry felt much better now, just a little tingly in his mouth.

"What did you do?" Remus asked in exasperation.

"Ate lotsa pepper," Harry told him, still a little teary.

Remus couldn't help but chuckle slightly, but turned it into a cough so Harry wouldn't notice. "And why did you do that?" he asked the boy, to a shrug in response. "Well, I don't think you'll be doing it again, hey?" he asked, receiving a frantic shake of the head.

Remus plucked Harry off of the counter and onto the floor, shaking his head. Honestly, eating a handful of pepper? He turned back to the pancakes, now black. He sighed and sneakily tossed the second batch into the rubbish bin before conjuring some beautifully made chocolate chip pancakes. Harry never need know he didn't actually make the pancakes.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Alice came through the floo with Neville a short while later. She kissed the boy goodbye, told him to be good, and began to head toward the floo despite the tears being cast by her only child. Remus, already standing near the fireplace when they came through, stepped in front of it as she turned back toward it.

"We need to talk," he told his friend as gently as he could. Alice, for her part, didn't resist. She agreed, and allowed him to lead her to the couch.

"Neville, come here," he told the boy, holding his arm out. Neville readily came, and Remus pulled him into a hug. "Mummy's not leaving you here today," he promised, and Alice looked at him in surprise. As realization came upon Neville, the tears stopped.

"She's not?" he asked, looking first at Remus, then at his Mum.

"No, she's not," Remus repeated, nudging Alice to assure her son.

"Not today, baby," Alice finally agreed as she reached out to run her hand down Neville's cheek. Neville nodded slowly, wiping the tears from his face.

"Will you go play with Harry in his room? Mummy and I need to talk for a little while, and we'll see about doing something special for lunch." Remus told the boy. Neville nodded in agreement and ran off to find Harry.

"Why can't I leave him here today?" Alice asked as soon as her son was out of earshot, "I thought you didn't mind helping me out."

"I don't mind helping you, and I love that little boy, but I don't think taking him every day is helping either of you, Alice. Do you realize what it's doing to him? Neville just lost one parent; he needs you now more than ever, he needs to know that he hasn't lost two parents, that your still here for him. He needs consistency and familiarity," Remus explained softly.

Alice sank back in the sofa, "I know," she agreed, "I just can't bear to look at him sometimes. He looks so much like Frank I can't stand it, and taking care of him seems like more then I can bring myself to do right now," she admitted. "I know every day when I drop him off that I shouldn't be; I promise myself it will be the last day, but then I pick him up and there's Frank again. Sirius told me the same thing, I need to be with him right now. It's just so hard. I try to turn off my emotions in the evening and morning, and be as pleasant as I can for him, but it's so exhausting. It's easier to bring him here during the day then to think about trying to get through a day with him."

Remus looked at her, taking in everything she said. He guessed he could see how it would be hard; still, this was her son, and he was still here. And when had she talked to Sirius?

"You know what Harry told me this morning?" Remus asked, "he told me that Neville cries because you go away, and he wants to go with you. And that Neville cries because he misses his daddy. And Neville concocted this idea in his head that Frank simply went to go visit Lily in heaven, and he would be back because he promised to take Neville flying. Neville is convinced, Alice, and you need to set that straight."

Alice shook with sobs as Remus spoke. What kind of mother was she, abandoning her son when he needed her most? And of course Neville would come up with some story, because she hadn't been around to talk to him about it. Alice needed to start putting her son first, and she knew it. She'd known it for awhile, but she'd done the _easier_ thing. She felt Remus' arms around her, and allowed herself to soak up the comfort for several minutes.

"I'll be here for him from now on, I swear I will," she told Remus, still engulfed in his comforting hug.

"I'll be here to help you," Remus promised.

Finally letting go, Remus fixed two cups of tea, and handed one to Alice. "Where have you been going every day?" he asked the question he was curious about for some time.

Alice took a long sip of tea, and paused for a good minute before answering. "Sometimes it's the graveyard," she told her friend, "I went to see James in the hospital a few times, but I usually go to Sirius' place."

Remus was taken aback. Sirius? But Sirius was over here almost every afternoon; taking Harry to the hospital to visit his father or staying with Neville while Remus took Harry to visit his father. Alice connected his facial expression of confusion to her statement about Sirius, and continued.

"Sirius has been a huge comfort, he just lets me do what I need to do; he talks to me when I want, sit in silence when I want to, or play a game if I need a distraction. He lets me stay till I need to leave, and then I pick up Neville and go home. He's told me over and over that Neville needs me right now. I guess it was easier to hear when my baby was safely over here. I asked him not to say anything about my being over there, and I guess he didn't," she finished.

Remus appreciated his mate's looking out for Alice in her time of need. Still, he wished he'd refused to allow her to neglect her duties as a mother, especially when he could see how sad Neville was when he saw him every afternoon. He couldn't blame the man, though, hadn't he done the same thing? Enabled her to go into her own little grieving world while he looked after her child? Not anymore, though. He decided the best way would be to tell her like it was.

"I'm glad Sirius has been there for you, but you can't leave Neville here anymore. You can come over anytime, as long as you stay here with him. I'm sure Sirius will be more than happy to continue going over there with Neville. I can help you find a counselor if you think that will help. When you see Frank in Neville, why don't you try to think of the wonderful legacy he's left behind rather than his loss," Remus suggested.

Alice nodded, fully in agreement. Hard as it was, she was ready to try to continue going with her life for both her sake and her son's.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

The week continued, and Alice followed through with her promise. She never left Neville once, outside of the house anyway, and was turning back into the mother and auntie that the boys new. Remus and Sirius were there for her whenever she needed it; they were always available to her. Neville was happier; though he still cried for his father, as did Alice, he had his mother to comfort him now.

James' condition finally started to improve. The medications the healers had been giving him seemed to counteract with the curse, but at long last they found a treatment that was working. James was slowly gaining more energy, gaining the use of his lower body muscles, able to keep food down, and the boils that had erupted on every inch of his body minus the face were starting to go away.

Kingsley Shacklebolt had stopped by 3 days before his release, and James verbalized the thing that he'd been thinking about a lot lately. James told his boss and friend that he wouldn't be coming back to work. As important as his job is, as good as he is at it, and as hard as it was to come to the decision to quit, he knew how close he had come to losing his life. Three gifted Aurors had died that night, and it could have easily been any of them. James wasn't willing to leave his child parentless; he had promised Lily that he would raise Harry right and he intended to keep that promise. Kingsley wasn't surprised. He'd almost been expecting it. He would miss his team; his was the finest team of Aurors that had been in the department for a good many years; but he didn't blame James in the slightest for coming to terms with the danger the job presents, and walking away from it.

After 7 weeks of treatment, James was released.

James opted not to tell his family he was being released. When they visited the day before, he acted like all was usual. He wanted to surprise his son. He detoured to Diagon Alley before he went to Remus', and bought a tiny orange and brown kitten, tiny enough for him to easily tuck away in his inside jacket pocket.

At long last, he stepped through the floo of Remus Lupin, and became the object of the staring of 5 pairs of eyes. Harry recovered from the shock first, and practically flew across the room and into his father's arms. James caught him in his chest and spun around once, holding the child close. How he'd missed this!

"Are you really home, for real, Daddy?" asked the little voice.

"For good, Harry! I'm all better!" James answered enthusiastically.

"Don't ever leave me like that again!" Harry scolded. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, munchkin," came the reply.

A short while later, James pulled the tiny kitten he had nearly forgotten about out of his pocket, and handed her to Harry. Harry's eyes lit up like Christmas, "Is she mine?" he asked. James nodded his approval. "What's her name? Is it a he or she?"

"Well, you'll have to name her," he told his son, "It's a girl."

Harry decided that "Moo" would be a good name for his new pet, and so Harry and Neville spent the next few hours playing with Moo, under the supervision of the adults, as they liked to be a little rough with the wee kitten.

The group had a nice dinner at Remus' house, before James and Harry went home, where Harry was enthusiastic to sleep in his own bed, in his own room, under his own stars, in his own house, with his own daddy, and his own brand new kitten, Moo.

Sirius accompanied Alice and Neville back to their house, having promised Neville that he would read him his good night story that night. Sirius made great character voices, and Neville loved it. The little boy began to drift off to sleep halfway through the story, and by the end he was out cold. Sirius kissed him goodnight, slid off the couch and pulled the covers on top of the child, before sliding quietly out of the room.

Downstairs he found Alice sitting on the couch with two cups of tea. He accepted his cup, and sat down.

"He must have been tired, he's out cold," Sirius commented.

Alice nodded, smiling slightly. "Did you know James was being released today?" she asked.

Sirius shook his head, "No idea, it was a surprise to us all," he told her. Alice nodded and weakly smiled, and Sirius knew something was bothering her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concernedly.

"Nothing," she responded hastily, before correcting herself. "I mean, it was just unexpected, seeing him like that. James hasn't been out of the hospital since…well, you know. I'm glad he's out, don't get me wrong. It just made me realize…now that he's healthy, he's home, he has Harry, life is back to normal for him. Without having to take care of Harry, life is back to normal for Remus, and for you. But it's different for me, I have to raise Neville alone. Frank will never come back and lately, Neville has stopped asking for him. He's only 3, I don't know how many memories of his father he'll have when he's grown," Alice said, letting her feelings out, but able to hold herself together as she did so.

"We all lost him, Alice" Sirius responded after a moment. "None of us will ever go back to what normal was before. Frank left a hole behind, and it will never be filled, but we have to build around it. We have to create a new normal. We're all here to help you and Neville, you don't have to do this alone; and I know Frank's mother wants some part in that too. Neville will have memories of his father, because you'll continue to remind him. We all will."

Alice nodded, tearfully. She wiped away the tears and busied herself by taking a long sip of her tea. She hadn't gone a day since his death without thinking about him, but now that everything was getting back to "normal," maybe making a new "normal" for her and her son wouldn't be so hard after all, with the help of her friends.

_**I know it's sappy/corny! I just couldn't do this chapter without sappiness! Hope you enjoyed!**_

_**~Elle~**_

_**PS. Section breaks...ie, little stars (*) or a line of x's, they are super annoying on FF! :P  
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	9. New Love

_**Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! Though there weren't many...I'd like to know what people think of my story; and I know a lot of people are reading it because of story alerts! Please read and review! Thanks!**_

**_~Elle_**

Alice smiled as she put the finishing touches on the giant Quidditch cake. Of course, since spending time with the Marauders as they had been, her little boy had fallen in love with Quidditch. The minute she had asked Harry and Neville what they wanted for their cake, they both yelled out "Quidditch!" So she made the beautiful Quidditch cake, three goal posts on either end of the oval shaped cake, a quidditch field in the middle with a tiny snitch charmed to flit around the boundaries of the cake and eight broomstick shaped candles, four for each boy. On the field in large red letters, were the words "Happy 4th Birthday Neville and Harry!" The party was gathered in her backyard, waiting patiently (or _impatiently_ in the case of two four year old boys) for the cake.

Oh, how things had changed! It had been 10 months now since she lost her husband, and months ago she never thought she could be as happy as she was! She still missed him, of course she did, and she told Neville about him often, but she found out that she could still be happy, and she knew that's what Frank would have wanted. She and Neville had moved out of the house she'd had with Frank, and into a much smaller house in Hogsmead, where she could be closer to her friends and support system, and Neville could grow up right across the street from Harry! It was just too hard to live in the house she had lived in with him, and she felt that in order to move on with her life, she needed to start over.

With the beautiful cake floating in front of her, she made her way to the backyard, where a loud rendition of "Happy Birthday" began at the sight of the cake. She had to laugh at the way Harry and Neville's eyes lit up at the sight of their cake. As the song came to a close, she levitated the cake down on the table in front of them and instructing them to make a wish.

Both sets of eyes closed; both faces screwed up in thought, before they opened their eyes and blew out the candles, to the applause of the audience. As James came with a knife to cut the cake, Harry stopped him.

"You can't cut that cake, daddy! You'll ruin it!" he said, seriously.

The adults laughed, and Remus came out with a camera. "Smile, boys!" he said, and the boys did so, smiling from behind their beautiful cake.

"There," said Alice, "now you can see it whenever you want, and we can eat it!" Harry agreed, and allowed James to cut into it, and scoop him and Neville the first large pieces of cake.

Then the boys began opening presents. So many good things! A box of sweets; toy wands that shot green ooze; a lot of new clothes; and a children's potion kit and a book of simple recipes including one that turned the consumer's hair blue for an hour, one that made the consumer burp the Hogwarts song, and other silly things. Harry and Neville opened identical boxes of cat toys, at which Harry squealed in delight at the thought of playing with them with Moo, and Neville got a confused look on his face until Sirius approached him with a tiny new black and grey kitten of his own!

Neville screamed and jumped up and down, taking the tiny kitten in his hands and gently stroking it's head, before jumping into Sirius' arms and wrapping his little arms around his neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he exclaimed.

Sirius hugged the little boy back, but whispered into his ear "It's from your mum, tiger. I got you the toys." He put Neville on the ground, who immediately ran to his mother and offered her the same treatment.

Harry watched, smiling at Neville's excitement. Now their kitties would be able to play together! He absentmindedly began opening another gift when BANG!

Harry jumped in surprise as the box banged loudly, covering him in black soot, and silence ensued around the party, other than the two young red-headed twins who were laughing uncontrollably. Molly Weasley turned to her two trouble makers. "Did you do that?" she asked, fiercely. The twins nodded, grins vanishing. "It wasn't going to hurt him," promised one twin. "It just makes a loud noise and throws dust!" the other added. Harry started laughing once he got over his shock, and pretty soon the entire party was laughing!

The Weasley's were newer friends, but they had a boy Harry and Neville's age that the boys enjoyed playing with. They had met the Weasley's at the memorial service the Auror office held in memory of Frank Longbottom, and Mrs. Weasley's brothers, Gideon and Fabian Prewett. The children had played nicely with each other, and the families decided to keep in contact.

After present opening, the children decided to play Quidditch with the children's quidditch set Harry had gotten a few years ago, but had not really been old enough to play with until recently. The game did not include broomsticks, but the kids ran around on the ground playing not entirely by the rules.

The adults sat to the side, watching and conversing, until Neville fell and skinned his knee, and began to cry. Alice stood to go to him, but Sirius had gotten there first. He gently picked him up and placed him in the chair Sirius had vacated, checked over the small wound, cleaned it out with the tip of his wand, and healed it.

"All better?" he asked the little boy. Neville nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes, and hugged Sirius. "Thank you," he said, before rushing to rejoin the other kids. Sirius turned back to the group of adults as if nothing happened and rejoined in the conversation.

The party was over, all the guests had gone home. Harry was exhausted and cranky, and James had taken him home. At Neville's request, Sirius was going to stay and read him a goodnight story. Currently, Alice was watching Sirius and Neville play with the new kitten on the floor.

"What's his name?" Sirius asked the little boy as he held the fake mouse in front of the kitten, who jumped to try to catch it.

Neville laughed at the kitten's antics, before picking him up gently and petting his head. The tiny cat purred and lay his head contentedly on Neville's arm. Neville screwed his face up in thought, considering names for his new little friend. "Shadow," he finally responded, thinking of his favorite book, which had a black and grey cat named Shadow.

Finally, Alice insisted it was time for bath and bed, and she got Neville to put Shadow down and go upstairs.

Later, Alice stood in the doorway, watching Sirius read to her little boy. As the story finished, she went in and kissed him on the forehead, and the two adults went back downstairs.

"Thank you, Sirius," Alice said, before Sirius could go home. "I'm glad he has you; he needs a father figure and it seems as though he's chosen you."

Sirius smiled, "I love the little guy, and I'm thankful that you let me be a part of his life," he responded. He paused, as though he wanted to say something else, before he turned and flooed back home.

Alice went to bed shortly afterward, but didn't fall asleep right away. She thought about the wonderful birthday party they had thrown for the boys that day, and how much fun they had had. Neville was so excited as Sirius came out with Shadow, and Sirius was wonderful with the boy as he hugged him tightly before telling him that it was really Alice who had gotten the cat. Alice smiled at the thought; it was really Sirius' idea, they had picked him out together and while Alice had paid for the tiny kitten, Sirius had kept it at his place for the three days preceding the party. Alice felt it was really more Sirius' gift then hers.

The kids had been so cute with their ground-quidditch game. She felt bad for Neville as he was pushed to the ground, and got up to immediately tend to him, but Sirius had been faster and Alice enjoyed watching him as he tenderly tended to the small child.

And then, as guests were leaving, Neville practically begged Sirius to stay until bedtime so he could read him his bedtime story. Sirius had glanced at Alice, who gave her nod of approval.

Alice felt her heart beat faster as she recalled the scene in the living room, as Sirius played on the floor with Neville and the kitten. She was sitting on the couch watching the scene; she truly was glad Neville had taken to Sirius as much as he had. When Neville had first started attaching himself to Sirius, Alice was concerned. Neville had a father, and she didn't want him to be replaced in Neville's heart. She realized Neville needed a man in his life; a fatherly figure, and that didn't mean that man would replace Frank. However, it seemed as though Neville was starting to choose Sirius to be that man. Sirius, the immature boy she remembered from Hogwarts, who got in trouble for some prank every other day. Even after Lily and James had gotten married, Sirius hadn't changed. However, the more time Alice spent with the man the more she realized that he HAD changed. He had matured, and he was a responsible adult now, and Neville adored him.

She recalled other moments that Sirius had spent with Neville; telling him stories about Frank, and the fun things they'd done together. She realized that Sirius would never let Neville forget his father, and made sure he knew how much his father had loved him.

Then she thought back to just a few hours ago, as she was watching Sirius read to her baby boy. She realized how much she really did care for him; as more than a father figure for Neville. That moment in front of the fire, she wanted to hug him so badly, but she held back; and then he hurried away.

Here, it hadn't even been a year since the love of her life died, and she never thought she would feel the same about another human being. And while her feelings toward Sirius weren't that intense…_yet, _she couldn't help but add…she was surprised to find herself having any feelings at all toward another man.

She thought about Frank…_What would he think about her newfound feelings toward Sirius? _She knew Frank would have wanted her to be happy; he would have wanted his son to grow up with a father figure in his life, and Sirius was Frank's friend. But would he think she was moving too fast? Would he think she was replacing him? Something told her he wouldn't.

But what was to say Sirius even thought of her as more then a friend?

XX

As Sirius stood in front of the fireplace talking to Alice, he felt his heart beating faster and faster. He spoke the truth when he said he was thankful to be a part of Neville's life, but it was more than that. He wanted to be a part of Alice's life. He wanted to kiss her, there, in front of the fireplace. He wanted to spill his guts to her, but who was he kidding? She had lost her husband all of 10 months ago! He turned and ran through the floo before he could do or say anything inappropriate. He paced his own living room, thinking about Alice. She was so beautiful, inside and out. She was caring and thoughtful, and she was an excellent mother to that little boy. He truly was thankful she allowed him to be a part of Neville's life, and he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that, but he realized now that while he would never want to replace Frank, he wanted to be more than a male role model in the boy's life.

Merlin, he needed to talk this over! He quickly flooed to James' place, where he found his best mate reading a Quidditch magazine on the couch.

"Hey," James said, putting the magazine down, and looking at his friend. "You OK?" he asked, motioning to the spot on the couch next to him. Sirius plopped down on the couch and sighed, running his hand through his hair. James, sensing his need to talk, summoned a pot of tea from the kitchen, and offered his mate a cup. Sirius took a sip and thought for a moment before speaking up.

"What am I going to do?" he asked his friend. James sat, clueless, waiting for Sirius to relay more information so he had some bloody idea on what he was talking about.

"About what?" James asked, when Sirius remained silent.

Sirius didn't speak for another minute, not sure how to get the words out. He recalled a similar situation back at Hogwarts, when he was convinced he was in love with Mia Jackson; but now that he met Alice he felt he knew the meaning of the word; more than just some teenage infatuation.

"I think I'm falling in love, Prongs," he finally admitted.

To his surprise, James chuckled. Sirius looked at him, almost angrily. "I'm serious, James! I don't know what to do!"

"Why don't you try telling her?" James asked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The way you two look at each other, it surprises me you haven't done anything before now!"

Sirius was shocked. "Was it really that obvious?" he asked his mate.

"To everyone but you too," James responded, shaking his head humerously.

"But what if she doesn't feel the same way about me?" Sirius asked, suddenly feeling like a girl-shy teenager at that statement. "I mean, she lost Frank less than a year ago," he added, redeeming himself.

"The way she looks at you, I doubt you'll have a problem," James replied. "Frank would have wanted her to be happy, and it's obvious the way you two feel about each other. You should talk to her. If you don't, your both just going to keep silently lusting after each other, when you could be much happier together," James advised his friend.

Sirius sighed, but agreed. He needed to talk to her. Changing the subject, he challenged James to a game of Wizards chess. After James won two out of three games, Sirius finally went home. He lay in bed contemplating how he would talk to Alice, and determined to do it tomorrow. It was a Saturday; neither of them had to work, they would have all the time they needed.

XX

The next morning, Sirius woke up after a thoroughly happy dream about Alice. He stood under the hot water longer then necessary in the shower, thinking about what he would say to her. He stood in front of the mirror, practicing the words over and over again and thinking about how they sounded. _Corny_, he thought, _sappy..mushy._ But women seemed to like that stuff, so he supposed it would be alright.

He walked to Alice's house instead of flooing later that morning; it was a short walk and he needed the fresh air. He knocked on her door, and Neville answered.

"Sirius!" he shouted, jumping into the mans arms.

"Hiya, kiddo," Sirius said, ruffling the boys hair and stepping into the house. "How are all those fun new toys of yours coming along?"

He put the boy down after crossing the threshold, and the child ran behind the couch and came back with the tiny little furball named Shadow. "He's such a good kitty, Sirius," he said, happily.

Alice walked in, and smiled when she saw Sirius standing there with her son. Upon seeing her, Sirius felt the involuntary butterflies in his tummy. But he was a chicken. More than a chicken, he was a coward, and he couldn't bring himself to say any more then inviting Alice and Neville to a picnic in the park. _I'll do it later, when Neville isn't around_, he told himself.

At the park, the three sat on a blanket eating their lunch, as Neville stuffed the last bit of sandwich into his mouth and asked, with his mouth full and crumbs flying out if he could go play. Sirius raised an eyebrow and instructed him to chew and swallow before he spoke. Neville did so, and then asked, in a much clearer voice, if he could go play. At Sirius and Alice's nod, he ran off to the playground, leaving the adults laughing at his antics. They watched as Neville found joined a little boy in the sandbox; which surprised Sirius somewhat.

"I'm glad he seems to be coming out of his shell a bit," he commented. "He's normally so shy around kids he doesn't know."

Alice nodded in agreement, "that's why he and Harry complement each other so well; Harry keeps Neville busy and Neville keeps Harry out of trouble. For the most part anyway," she said as an afterthought. Harry and Neville managed plenty of trouble despite Neville's cautiousness. The two adults laughed as they talked about some of the things the boys had gotten themselves into, finally catching each others eyes. Sirius let himself lean forward and kiss her gently on the lips, mentally scolding himself; he hadn't meant for it to come to this, without talking first, but he was surprised when she kissed him fully back without hesitation. He finally pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he said, his face red…though he was anything but sorry.

"Why?" asked Alice. She had, after all, wanted this as much as he did!

Sirius didn't reply, just looked at her, and saw what he needed to in her eyes. She wanted this, too. At that moment, Neville came running up to them, demanding that Sirius come and play with him. Sirius obliged, with one last smile back at Alice, he chased after Neville.

From that moment on, Sirius spent every moment he wasn't at work with Alice, and it was October when he proposed, and she accepted without hesitation. Fast? Maybe, but the two loved each other and knew this was right. The wedding would be in February; nothing huge, friends and family only. James and Remus stood next to Sirius; while two of Alice's friends stood next to her. Neville stood proudly at James' side, watching as his mother and Sirius exchanged vows, and kissed. Harry closed his eyes at that part, but Neville didn't. He was too happy. As they were pronounced husband and wife, Neville ran up to them and jumped into their arms, one around each neck, and pulling them both close.

"You're my Papa now," he told Sirius with a big smile. Neville decided that Sirius would be his Papa, because Frank had been his dad.


	10. Caught!

**_As always thanks for the reviews! Just a few notes: I did knowingly change some things from Canon to better fit the purposes of the story. I didn't change anything huge, so I hope that doesn't offend anyone! This one turned out looong! Hope you enjoy!_**

**~Elle**

As February wore on, the Blacks got accustomed to their new life as a family. Sirius moved out of his small flat and into Alice's house. He loved his new status as husband and "Papa," though he was certainly still getting used to it! He loved hearing the word Papa come out of that little boy's mouth, and have it aimed at him! As much time he spent with Alice and Neville before the marriage, it took some getting used to, having a child around 24/7; especially when said child enjoyed waking them up in the early hours of the morning by jumping on the bed they were sleeping in. It also took some adjustment to get out of the "friend" or "mums boyfriend" fun Uncle Sirius role, and into the role of parental figure in Neville's life, and everything that came along with that.

The only argument Alice and Sirius really had was the one of Sirius' job. Alice wanted desperately for him to quit being an Auror and do something safer. Sirius felt a duty to his job, and to help keep the wizarding world a little bit safer. He understood Alice's fear, but he couldn't just abandon the department, he had a duty! But now, he had a duty to his family as well, and a duty to be there for them. He was more cautious now, he never went into a situation blind if he could help it. He had learned from that night; the entire department had learned from that night and set up safety precautions and rules that the Auror department as a whole had to follow; and Sirius truly felt no harm would come. Alice accepted this, but let him know her strong feelings on the matter.

XX

February turned into March, and with that they found themselves at the Burrow, celebrating the birthday of one red headed five year old, Ron Weasley. Sirius felt himself stare in awe at the Weasley's fantastic home, additions added here and there where needed, it looked like the only thing keeping it standing was magic! Which, he reasoned, it probably was. It was a pleasant day, though cold as it was the beginning of March. The Weasley's set up an enormous tent in the yard, nicely heated to accommodate the party.

Neville found himself suddenly shy, and attached himself to Sirius' side. It was not odd behavior for the boy. Neville was an active and energetic boy when playing with Harry, and was perfectly comfortable and active in the presence of any of the marauders or his grandmother. Upon spending more time with Ron on playdates at his or Harry's house, he'd come to be good friends with him too and be himself; but he was extremely shy in most other situations. He had spent time with Ron's brothers and sister before, but that had been at his house, in his territory, at his birthday party; even then he was pretty timid around them and it had been easy to play by himself once he'd opened his new gifts. They'd all been on their best behavior at the memorial service, and Neville stuck to his mother that day. And at the wedding, well, he didn't need an excuse to stick to his parents that day! But today was another story, 5 of the Weasley children were present, as well as several other children ranging in age from 2-10, both Weasley cousins and friends. And Neville had no interest in playing with that many children he didn't know!

The 7 year old Weasley twins seemed to be particularly rambunctious today; Molly mentioned that they were overly excited at having company over. The kids played outside the tent, bundled up of course, in the yard, while the adults stayed under the warmth of the tent. Neville sat on Sirius' knee, refusing Sirius' suggestion that he go and play with the other children. Rambunctious as he and Harry could be at times, Neville was used to a much quieter environment, and was a little overwhelmed with the amount of kids at the party. He felt much safer in his Papa's lap.

Finally, Harry came running through the tent, looked around, spotted Neville and ran to stand in front of him and Sirius. "Whatcha doin in here, Neville?" he asked his friend.

Neville shrugged, "I like it in here," he responded.

"Come on! We're playing tag, and then hide and go seek! It won't be much fun without you!" he told his friend, grabbing his hand and attempting to pull him along. Neville shook his head, trying to pull away from Harry; he much preferred it under the tent.

Sirius put Neville down. "You go play with your friends," he encouraged he boy, pushing him along with Harry. "You've been sitting in here far too long and your missing all the fun." Reluctantly, Neville followed along, giving his Papa a sad look over his shoulder.

During Tag, Neville had to be "it" for a long period of time. He couldn't keep up with the other children and was reluctant to get too close to fastly running children for fear of being knocked over; finally Harry took pity on him and allowed himself to be tagged. Neville stayed on the outskirts of the game after that.

During hide and seek, Fred decided to hide in a tree. As soon as Neville was underneath the tree, Fred dropped to the ground in an attempt to frighten the boy. His intentions were playful, not cruel, and Neville was not his target; he just happened to be the first person under the tree. But he misjudged Neville's placement and landed _on top_ of the boy instead of in front of him.

Upon hearing the cry, the adults rushed to the scene, where Molly dragged her son inside, scolding him along the way, while Alice and Sirius checked Neville over and determined that he was just fine, just a little shaken. Neville wanted to remain with Alice or Sirius after that, and Alice allowed him to sit on her lap back in the tent while the other children continued to play. Fred came out of the house with Molly, red eyed, and apologized to Neville, asking him to come and play again. Neville accepted the apology, but refused to go play. Harry came twice to ask Neville to join them, but Neville had no interest. Sirius encouraged him several times to go back, to which Neville got annoyed and snapped "no! I don't wanna!"

Sirius was a very outgoing, personable man. He had been even as a boy, he was perfectly comfortable in pretty much any situation, so it bothered him to some extent at how shy and timid Neville was. He understood that the boy had been shaken by the fall, but he wasn't injured and Sirius saw no reason for Alice to coddle him as if he had been. He wanted the boy to feel more comfortable around other children, and he didn't think that would happen if they didn't make him step outside of his comfort zone once in a while. Besides, Harry was here and would make sure Neville was included, and he knew the Weasleys, so he saw no reason for Neville to be so clingy, especially a good hour after the incident! He felt strongly that Neville needed to get over the fall and go back and play. But, in a parenting situation he'd never been in before, he had no idea how to get Neville out of Alice's arms when Alice was perfectly fine with where he was and continued to baby him as if he'd been hurt by the incident.

At present opening time, Neville refused to sit with the children on the floor to watch Ron open his gifts, preferring to sit on Alice's lap. Then the birthday games started: pin the tail on the hippogriff, musical statues, piñata, and other games, that Neville was perfectly content to sit out of. Finally Sirius couldn't take it anymore; he'd tried encouragement, now he was going to try a different tactic.

"Neville," he said, and the boy turned to him in his mother's lap. "Come here please," he instructed, holding out his arm to the boy. Neville climbed down from the lap, and went to his Papa, attempting to climb into his lap. Sirius didn't allow it, instead holding the boy by his shoulders in front of him.

"I would like you to go play with the other kids, now. You're not hurt, and you've been ignoring them for too long," he told the boy. Neville shook his head, his eyes starting to well up. "I don't wanna, Papa!" he cried.

"It's Ron's birthday," Sirius continued, "and it's not good manners to come to a party and ignore the birthday boy. You're missing out on a lot of fun and a chance to meet new kids. You need to go join them now," he told the boy sternly, turning him in the direction of the other children. Neville instead turned back toward Alice, but Sirius blocked him and again, told him to go join the kids.

Neville was saved at that moment, because Molly announced it was time to eat, and Neville turned toward the food table, dragging Sirius with him. Sirius sighed, deciding that Neville would be joining the children after the early dinner, regardless. He helped fix the boys plate at the food table, but found another opportunity to include Neville with the children when Neville headed for an empty chair where his mother was sitting. All of the children were sitting together at one table, and Sirius grabbed Neville's hand and led him to that table, much to the boy's dismay.

"This is the children's table," he told the boy, "all of the kids need to eat here." If he made it sound like a rule, he hoped Neville would be more open to it. It didn't work, Neville strained hard against Sirius' hand. Sirius sighed, what on earth was the boy's issue? It wasn't as if he was asking him to sit with a bunch of people he'd never met without his parents there! He bent down and looked Neville in the eye.

"You need to stop it right now; you're being rude, this is your friend's birthday party! You are going to sit with Harry, Ron and the rest of the kids, and you are going to play games with them after dinner," he told the boy sternly before standing up and firmly leading him to the table. He put his plate in front of an empty seat between Harry and Ron (who eagerly and happily accepted Neville's presence and included him in the conversation), and helped the unhappy boy into it, before going back to get his own plate of food and settling himself next to Alice.

"What are you doing?" Alice asked, a look of disapproval on her face. She wasn't going to undermine Sirius in front of Neville, but she felt her husband was being harsh on the little boy who was feeling pretty overwhelmed right now. If he didn't want to play with the kids, why make him?

"He could be having a lot of fun today if he would just try," Sirius responded. "He's never going to get more comfortable playing with others if we allow him to sit with the adults all the time.

"But he's overwhelmed, Sirius, he's shy around new people, you know that; and the kids can be awful rough; he's already been jumped on once today!" Alice argued.

"Yes, but he wasn't hurt and Fred apologized; he won't do it again. He's milking that incident for all it's worth, he needs to get over it. If he gives it a chance, I think he'll have a lot of fun," Sirius countered. "Besides, he's being rude to Ron. Ron is his friend and Neville's completely ignoring him at his own birthday party."

Alice sighed, she didn't completely agree with Sirius but she could see his point; they had decided that Sirius would have equal say in the raising of Neville, and she had to respect that. Even if Neville wasn't biologically his, Neville had to know that both parents were equally in charge. Sirius had made a decision and she wouldn't be accomplishing anything by forcing it, so she let Sirius' decision go, deciding to see how it worked. If it upset Neville too much, she'd put her foot down and let him sit by her.

After dinner, Neville once again tried to sit by his parents, but Sirius pointed to area the other kids were heading for games without a word. Neville joined in, very sulkily at first, but after 10 minutes Sirius swore the kid smiled. He could tell now that Neville was trying to keep up the sulky act, but was having a good time. He pointed that out to Alice, who sighed; admitting that Sirius was right this time. Neville happily joined in the rest of the games, forgetting that he was supposed to be upset, and when it was time for cake joined the other kids at the front without hesitation.

Shortly after cake the guests began to leave, and the remaining children were re-playing pin the tail on the hippogriff. Neville, who had missed it the first time, laughed out loud when it was his turn to play.

Sirius noticed as the oldest present Weasley child, Percy, the quiet and serious one, disappeared inside the house, and thought nothing of it. Percy was the only child besides Neville who decided he wasn't going to join the other children; calling their behavior childish and silly; though he couldn't resist joining in some of the games. 15 minutes later he emerged, carrying with him his pet rat. Percy sat in a seat near Sirius, staring disapprovingly at the rowdy children playing, absentmindedly petting the rat, who was nestled on his lap, fast asleep. Sirius couldn't help but stare at the animal; it looked startlingly familiar. Suddenly, something clicked.

"Where'd you get your rat, Percy?" he asked the boy trying to sound nonchalant and mildly curious.

"My brother Bill found him, in my dad's shed," Percy replied.

"How old is he?" Sirius asked, trying his hardest to keep his voice even and quiet. If it really was Peter, he didn't want to wake him. He was sure the rat would try to take off at the sound of Sirius' voice.

"I don't know, but Bill found him about 3 years ago. They tried to let him go, but he just kept hanging around so I decided to keep him," Percy informed him. _3 years ago, shortly after Lily died and Peter disappeared," _Sirius thought.

He remembered the night he'd heard Peter vanished vividly, as if it were yesterday. It was close to Christmas that year, in the paper; Peter Pettigrew dead at last! Some aurors had caught up with him; attempted to take him into custody. Somehow, Peter had gotten hold of a wand and set off an explosion. He'd killed three of the Aurors on the scene and a half a dozen bystanders; all they found of Peter was a finger. Sirius, James and Remus never bought into the story. Peter was a coward; he never would have shown himself if he didn't have a plan, and probably a pretty foolproof plan. He was afraid word would get out that he could disguise himself as a rat; people would start looking for him as a rat and he would somehow be found. The remaining Marauders could only guess that he had stolen the wand from some unsuspecting which or wizard before putting himself out in the view of the public; then cast the explosion curse, cutting off his own finger, and transforming into a rat; thereby feigning his own death.

Sirius looked carefully at the sleeping rat on the boy's lap, at it's front paws visible from beneath the sleeping rat's head. Sure enough, a finger was missing. Sirius felt the bile build up in his stomach as he sat back quickly. Percy was eyeing him very oddly by this point, and Sirius was afraid he would wake the rat. He got up to find James, and interrupted his conversation with Mr. Weasley, pulling him out of earshot of anyone else.

"What's wrong?" James asked, startled by the urgent expression on Sirius' face.

"Percy has a rat," Sirius told him, "he brought it out, it's sleeping on his lap…" James looked at him blankly.

"And?"

"James, I know that rat! I've seen him transform a million times, I'd know him anywhere!"

James gasped in surprise. "You're saying it's Peter?" he asked his best mate. "You're sure? Lots of rats look alike, Sirius," James pointed out.

"I'd know him anywhere," Sirius insisted, "Percy said his brother Bill found him in the shed…three years ago! And that they tried to let him go but the rat stuck around, it wouldn't leave, so Percy kept him. James…the rat is missing a front toe!"

"Well lets go get him!" James said, turning to head toward Percy and Peter, but Sirius grabbed his arm. "James the rats sleeping now, I don't want to wake him. If he recognizes us he'll flee," Sirius said, reasonably. "We need to get him away from the boy, and force him to show himself."

"Well, how do we do that? I'm not leaving this house if I know Peter's in it, and sleeping in a 9 year old's bedroom!"

Sirius nodded in agreement. "Lets talk to Arthur, he'll be easier to persuade than Molly. He can get the rat away from Percy and we'll figure it out from there." James nodded, and went to grab Arthur from the party, who followed him back to where Sirius was waiting.

"What's going on?" the man asked, "did something happen, you two look upset."

James started, well aware that they couldn't just ask Arthur to take the rat away from his son without an explanation. He explained quickly, but told the whole story.

"You know about Remus' lycanthropy?" Arthur nodded; as a ministry official he would know Remus Lupin was registered as a warewolf. James continued,

"When we found out in school, Peter, Sirius and I learned how to become animagi, so we could keep him company on the full moon," Arther interrupted with a gasp, but asked "why does this matter now?"

"It matters, Arthur, because Peter Pettigrew's animagi form was a rat," Sirius took over. "The night of Voldemort's downfall he got scared and fled; he hid as a rat until that day in December that the papers reported he was dead and took 3 Aurors and a bunch of civilians with him. Remember that all that remained of him was a finger?" Arthur nodded, he remembered all right.

"We doubted he was dead despite the paper," James continued. "We know Peter well enough to know he wouldn't kill himself like that; he was just afraid of word getting out that he was a rat and being found out, so he decided to feign his own death."

Arthur looked at them with wide eyes. "Are you saying Peter Pettigrew is alive?" he asked them. "Why on earth didn't you say something three years ago?"

"Dumbledore knows his disguise, as does the Minister. They didn't release that information because of the mass panic it would cause, and there was no chance of finding Peter underground as he was. After that day, well, everyone believed he was dead. There had been witnesses, and the Minister and Dumbledore agreed that if he had transformed, the witnesses would have seen. We disagreed, we didn't know for sure, but there was only so much we could do," Sirius told the man.

"So why are we talking about this now?" Arthur inquired.

Sirius pointed to Percy. "I was just talking to Percy. I noticed his rat; very familiar looking. I swear I could pick out Peter in a group of a thousand rats, the number of times I've seen him transform. Percy described the odd behavior of the rat 3 years ago when Bill found him; shortly after Voldemort's downfall. I looked closely at the rat's front paws, Arthur, and he has a finger missing," Sirius finished, watching as the color drained from Arthur's face.

"Y-y-your…your sure?" he asked the two men.

"Almost positive. The rat was sleeping, I didn't want to wake him and alert him that I was there, I was afraid he'd flee," Sirius explained, "but I'm sure it's him."

"What now?" Arthur asked, trying but failing to keep the panic from his voice. His 9 year old son had a murderer asleep in his lap! His 9 year old son had slept with a murderer in his bed for the past three years!

Sirius conjured a cage, and placed a shatter-proof charm on it. Peter wouldn't be able to get out or transform out of his rat form. "Now," he told Arthur, "we need you to get Peter away from Percy and put him in here. Directly in here, mind you; the minute Peter realizes something's going on, he will panic and do something. I don't wish to find out what."

Arthur nodded and accepted the cage, before making his way to Percy. He knelt down next to his son, the rat still asleep on his lap, and placed the cage on the table in front of them.

"Perce," Arthur said quietly, his intent, as well, not to awake the intruder, but also not to scare Percy. "I need to take Scabbers, son."

Percy gave his father a weird look, and glanced back and forth between his father and the cage…what could he possibly want with his rat of all things? "Why?" he asked, reasonably.

"I have some concerns about him, I need to have him checked out," Arthur said simply; the young boy didn't need to know anything more.

"He seems fine to me," Percy replied, looking down at his pet. "Same as normal."

"I know he does, son, but I still need to see him," Arthur replied, reaching for the rat.

"No," Percy replied, sensing something was up. "He's fine! Why do you want him?" he asked, shifting his body so the rat out of reach of his dad. Darn! This wasn't going as well as Arthur had hoped; and the rat was waking up and starting to freak. Arthur, beginning to panic and wanting the murderer out of his son's hands, forcibly turned Percy back toward him and tried to pull his hands away from the rat, who was now awake and squealing. Sirius saw the trouble Arthur was having, and afraid that Peter was going to escape, went to lend his assistance. He held Percy's arms still from behind as Arthur pried his son's fingers from the now frantic rat. Percy yelled at his father to stop, bringing much attention to the group, as Arthur attempted to shove the squealing rat into the cage. The rat bit hard into Arthur's hand, and he dropped him in surprise. James, who was standing right next to the group, jumped on top of the rat and grabbed him before he could escape, shoved him into the cage and closed the door.

Percy at this point was having a tantrum worth of Ron; not at all like Percy, screaming at the men who had taken his rat. They couldn't blame the boy, but they also couldn't explain to a 9 year old that the rat wasn't really a rat, but a murderer.

"What is going on here?" Mrs. Weasley asked angrily. Percy rushed to her side and hugged her, which she returned. "They took Scabbers, Mum, for no reason they held me down and took him from me and put him in a cage!"

Molly looked at her husband in shock and anger. "Arthur, what is the meaning of this?" she asked.

"I'll explain it all later, Molly dear. I promise there is a very good reason but it's all very complicated," Arthur told her before addressing his son. "I'm so sorry I had to do that, Percy, and I wish I could tell you the reason I did. I wouldn't have taken him if it wasn't absolutely necessary," he said, placing his hand comfortingly on his son's back.

"Leave me alone! I hate you!" Percy shouted as he let go of his mother, shrugged away from his father, and ran into the house.

"We need to get him to Dumbledore," Sirius told James quietly. James nodded, "I'll go ask Alice to watch Harry." Alice, of course, wanted to know what the fight with Percy was about and where they were going, and James promised that she would hear all about it later, but it was important they get to Hogwarts now.

James and Sirius left the boundaries of the Burrow, and apperated to Hogsmeade, where they trekked across Hogwarts grounds and into the castle, still squealing rat in tow. As they reached the stone gargoyle, they realized they didn't have the password. James sent a patronus to the office above, and a moment later the gargoyle slid open and the two (and a half) men stepped through.

"James! Sirius! To what do I owe this pleasure?" Dumbledore asked, beaming at the two men. "Lemon drop?" he offered. Both men turned down the offer, and Sirius placed the cage he was holding with the now quiet but wide eyed rat inside.

"What's this?" Dumbledore asked, softening his jovial expression.

"We were at the Weasley's just now, for little Ron's birthday party," Sirius explained. "Percy Weasley has been keeping him as a pet. It's him, headmaster. I'm positive," Sirius told the old man, and James agreed.

"Definitely him; we'd recognize him anywhere."

Dumbledore observed the rat carefully. "His right paw," he stated quietly…

"It's missing a toe," James finished.

"Of course!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "It's so simple! So brilliant!"

"So cowardly," Sirius added. "Of course," Dumbledore agreed.

"Sirius, get Kingsley over here if you please. We'll force him to show himself when we're prepared to have him immediately arrested," Dumbledore said, addressing the younger man.

Sirius agreed and floo-called his boss at home. Kingsley agreed and came right through, no questions asked, when he was told he was needed urgently in Dumbledore's office.

"What's going on?" he asked of the three men in the room.

"It seems as though we've found Peter Pettigrew, alive after all," Dumbledore told him. "James, will you do the honor?" he asked as James opened the door to the cage, and the rat tried to run for all he was worth. James was faster though, and in a moment a fat little man with a face like a rat was lying on the floor in front of them. Sirius gave in to the urge to spit on the man, and kicked him hard in the gut. James stared at him, pure fury on his face.

Peter cowered at the kick he received from Sirius, but turned to James. "James," he said, fear evident in his voice, "my old friend! You don't understand, I had to! He would have killed me!"

"Then you should have DIED!" Sirius shouted with fury, "As we would have done for you! Died before you betrayed your friends!"

But James just stared at him, unable to move for a moment, as Kingsley bound the man in magic proof ropes so he couldn't transform. "I didn't have a choice, James! You have to believe me!" Peter repeated.

"I trusted you, Peter," James finally was able to speak, quietly. "I trusted you with the life of my family. And you tried to have us killed. You sold us to Voldemort, so he could murder a tiny baby! You killed my wife as surely as if you held the wand and spoke the words, Peter, and you very nearly killed my son!" James was screaming in rage at the end of it, and had his wand inches from Peter's face.

"Give me one reason not to do it, Peter," he spit out.

"Because you have a son that needs you, James," Kingsley stepped in. "You need to be there for him, not in a cell."

"Tell them he was resisting arrest," James spat. "Tell them he was killed trying to flee. Tell them it was self defense. Tell them anything! I don't care what! I doubt anyone will care about the justified murder of the man who murdered ten innocent people, faked his death, and spent the next 3 years sharing a bed with a 9 year old kid!" He spoke to Kingsley, but he never took his eyes off Peter.

"I certainly couldn't blame you, but you're not a murderer, James," Kingsley told his former colleage, putting a hand on his wand arm and pushing it down. James didn't resist. "Don't sink to his level; don't throw your life away for the likes of him. Back away for Harry's sake." Thinking purely of Harry, the only thought that could make him back off, James nodded and turned his back on Peter, wiping the tears that had formed in his eyes before anyone could see.

"Rot in hell, Wormtail," he told the man he once considered a friend. "I hope the dementors have a nice kiss waiting for you!" Peter turned pail at the thought, and Kingsley forced him to his feet and through the floo back to the ministry.

James and Sirius slowly made their way back outside the grounds of Hogwarts, before apparating back to the Burrow. The whole ordeal at Hogwarts had taken about 90 minutes, and Alice was still at the Burrow with the boys, along with a few lingering guests.

"Your back!" she said, wandering over to them. "What was that all about?" Sirius promised to tell her later, and set off to find Arthur and update him.

James, meanwhile, walked straight to Harry and scooped him up in his arms, hugging him tightly to his chest as if he never wanted to let him go. Finally..._finally_ the man had once considered a trusted friend; the man who betrayed his family; torn his family apart; _murdered_ is wife, was caught. And he had been a part of the capture. And the little boy he was currently possibly suffocating in his tight embrace was the one that stopped him from becoming a murderer tonight.

"Hey! Daddy!" Harry yelled, as James scooped him into his arms. Harry squirmed a little, but settled into the hug before complaining loudly, "daddy! I can't breathe!" he shouted. "Sorry kid," James said, loosening his hold. Harry turned his face to look into his fathers, and wiped a tear from his face.

"Daddy, your crying," he informed the man he didn't think could ever cry. He wrapped his little arms back around his father's neck. "It's OK to cry, daddy, I'm here," the little boy repeated the words his father told him every time he got hurt, or was sad or upset.

"I love you," James said as he hugged the boy closer. "Lets go home."

Harry agreed. It was evident that the little boy was worried about his father. James put Harry down, and Harry ran over to Ron, Neville, and the other remaining children. "Happy Birthday Ron," he told his friend before running back to his father, who lifted him and made his way toward the floo, to go back home.


	11. New Friends

**_Well here ya go. I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with the ending, but I've already been stalling for 3 days so I'm going to post it. Hope you enjoy! As always, thanks so much for reading and reviewing!_**

**_~Elle  
><em>**

Two weeks later, they found out in the paper that Peter Pettigrew had indeed suffered the Dementor's Kiss. When James first read it, he let out a large sigh of relief; but he later had mixed feelings. Not that they would do him any good, he knew, Peter deserved what he got and James would never feel otherwise.

He felt overwhelming relief that the man who had betrayed his family, as good as killed his wife, murdered 9 innocent people in order to save his own life, and hid for 3 years in the bed of a 9 year old was finally gone forever. He would never again harm another person.

Another part of him felt a sense of injustice. Peter was no longer here, he was gone for good; his misery was over. He didn't suffer nearly enough for what he did! A part of him wished Peter would have suffered in Azkaban for years to come for what he did.

Another part of him felt sadness; grief at the thought of the friendship they used to share. Where had that boy gone? When did he turn on them? Was it all the way back in Hogwarts? Was he secretly working for Voldemort as he stood in James and Lily's wedding?

But Peter was gone, and that's all that really mattered. The Weasley's were still flabbergasted and disgusted that a murderer had lived in their house, shared their son's bed for three years and they never knew it.

Remus expressed regret that he hadn't been a part of the capture. Oh, how he would have longed to be a part of catching the man that sold his best mates to Voldemort, to look into that ratty, beady face one last time. But in the end, he was just happy that the man had been caught; and that James had been able to be a part of catching the man that betrayed him.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

One sunny day in June, Alice and Neville went to visit Frank's mother, Augusta Longbottom. Sirius decided to remain behind; he was well aware that he wasn't Augusta Longbottom's favorite person. He was trying to replace Frank in her eyes; the marriage had happened too soon after his death. He hoped she would eventually come around, but for now he wanted to give her quality time with her grandson and knew that she wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much if Sirius were there; so Sirius found himself spending the day with James and Harry.

Harry was hyper when Sirius arrived. He was running around the house still in his pajamas, jumping from piece of furniture to piece of furniture, holding a wooden stick in his hand, his pretend wand, and yelling out random words (his "spells") and making explosion noises at whatever the spell hit. The moment Sirius walked in, a pillow was thrown in his face and he heard a loud "Gotcha! You're exploded!" Before Sirius had a chance to react, Harry through another pillow at the fireplace, hitting it higher then he'd meant to and knocking a picture off the wall, smashing the glass inside. Hearing the noise, James came in from the other room. He easily repaired the broken picture and levitated it back to it's rightful spot, but grabbed Harry by the arm and took the pretend wand out of his hand.

"I told you three times already that you need to calm down," he told the boy sternly. "You need to go to your room now and get dressed, no more running, no more shouting, and no more throwing things. I'm not telling you again, now go!" James gave the boy a gentle shove in the direction of his bedroom.

Sirius laughed out loud when Harry was out of earshot. "Somebody's got energy today," he commented.

"Yeah," James laughed in agreement. "Today, and yesterday, and the day before! Just off the hook; he's a never ending bundle of energy, it's exhausting!"

James picked up a frying pan from the living room floor and lifted it in front of him, raising an eyebrow. Sirius laughed as James went to the kitchen to put the object away. He wasn't sure he really wanted to know what Harry was doing with the fry pan. Harry came tearing back down the stairs 5 minutes later, fully dressed and flung himself at Sirius, who obligingly lifted the boy up. Harry gave him a quick hug, then threw himself backwards so he was hanging upside down from Sirius' arms, who had to quickly get a better grasp on Harry as soon as he realized what the boy was doing. He grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him back to an upright position, so they were face to face.

"I almost dropped you, Harry," he told his godson. "You can't do that without telling me." He put Harry down as James announced that Harry needed exercise and they were going to town. Sirius readily agreed, and Harry jumped up and down in excitement as the three headed out the door. The central part of Hogsmeade was only about a 15 minute walk from their homes on the outskirts of town, so James decided the walk would do Harry some good.

Harry ran ahead of them and James called after him to stay in sight. As they entered the village, Harry ran straight for Honeydukes.

"Not today, Harry," James called out to stop him. Harry turned to his father, a pout forming on his face, "Awww, but Dad, I _want_ to!" he insisted.

"You are way too hyper as it is, we're not putting any more sugar in you." James and Sirius caught up to a now pouty Harry, and James took his hand. "Stop that pouting, you don't need any more candy," he scolded the boy. "We need to go to Gladrags, you need new clothes, then you can get some new toys for Moo if you'd like, and we'll go to the park," he said, leading his son toward the clothing shop across the street.

"But daaad," Harry protested; he hated clothes shopping! "I have lots of clothes! Can't you just magic them bigger?"

"I'm no good at that," James replied, "and your clothes are worn out, you need new ones anyway," and with that he dragged an unhappy Harry into the clothing store, where he was poked and prodded for measurements. His dad paid for the several new articles of clothing, and the three left the shop, heading next door to pick up Moo's new toy from the animal store. Harry chose a rat that was charmed to look and move real, and would withstand a cat attack. James and Sirius cringed at each other, thinking about their last encounter with a rat.

They finally made it to the park; a magical playground on the edge of Hogsmeade, where Harry immediately charged to the playground the moment it was in view. James and Sirius sat on the bench and watched as Harry walked straight up to a little boy and introduced himself, immediately making friends with the boy.

Sirius was quietly glad that his child was so much calmer than Harry, but he also secretly hoped that some of Harry's self confidence and outgoing personality would rub off on Neville. Not that he wanted to compare the two boys, but he wished he could help Neville have more confidence in himself.

Sirius, remembering that he had to pick something up from Durvish and Bangs, let James know he'd be back in a few minutes. James nodded his reply, and decided to walk around the playground instead of sitting stationary in the chair. As he approached the spot where Harry and his new friend were playing, he stopped to watch for a few minutes. He was pleased with how well Harry got along with other children so easily, despite being an only child. He found a shady tree and stretched out underneath it, continuing to keep an eye on Harry.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them Harry and his friend were gone. James got to his feet, assuming Harry to be on the other side of the playground, out of view. He began walking, and found the boy and his friend standing by a woman, eating a snack. James approached the group.

"Harry, what are you doing?" he asked his son. He wasn't pleased that his son was, 1) taking food from a stranger, and 2) inviting himself to someone else's snack.

"Dad, this is my new friend, Ollie!" Harry said, smiling as his father approached. The woman stood up and shook his hand.

"Hi, I'm Darcey," she introduced herself. "I hope you don't mind I gave Harry a snack; Ollie was hungry and asked if Harry could have one too."

"Not at all," James said, smiling despite his earlier misgivings.

"C'mon Harry, I'll race ya back!" shouted Ollie as soon as they'd both finished their biscuits.

"That child has one speed: fast," Darcey commented as she picked up the bag of remaining biscuits, holding it up to offer one to James. He accepted, and she took one herself before putting it away.

"I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with an overly energetic child," James laughed, taking a seat on the bench next to her. "I'm James, by the way," he said, offering her his hand. They talked for a while as they watched the children play. James found out that Ollie was about 10 months younger then Harry. He had turned four at the end of May, whereas Harry would be five in July. Darcey had graduated the year after James, from Ravenclaw, and had a job as a healer's assistant, working nights at St. Mungos. She had plans to finish her healers training as soon as she could afford it, which she had taken a break from two years earlier after Ollie's father walked out on them.

When Sirius made his way back to the park, it took him a moment to find James. He finally found her sitting on the bench talking to a young woman. Smirking, he approached the two. "Find what you were looking for?" James asked as he saw his mate approach. Sirius held up his bag and nodded in response.

James introduced Darcey as Harry's new friend's mum, and Sirius told James that Alice had gotten home early so he should get back. This was untrue, but Sirius knew James was enjoying his talk with 'Darcey' and didn't want to interrupt. Before long the boys ran back to the bench where their parents were sitting, both hungry from playing so hard. James checked his watch; it was lunch time.

"Should we go to the Three Broomsticks?" he asked Harry, who eagerly answered, "Yes! Can Ollie and his Mum come?"

"Well, I guess that's up to Ollie's mum," James replied.

"Please, Mummy?" asked Ollie, and Darcey agreed that it would be fun to have lunch with their new friends.

Lunch was lovely, but afterwards both parents determined that it was naptime for their son, to both sons' verbal dismay.

"Can we play again sometime?" Harry asked his dad before the two pairs parted.

"I don't see why not," James answered, and Darcey agreed and told him to owl her any time to set up a playdate.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Over the next few weeks, Harry and Ollie became fast friends. Darcey worked nights at St. Mungos, and once they had spent a little time together James offered to take Ollie a night or two a week so Darcey didn't have to pay a sitter. Darcey readily agreed, as the sitter was expensive. The arrangement made Harry and Ollie both very happy. Harry felt like one very lucky boy, he had _**two**_ best friends!

But one little boy wasn't very happy. Neville didn't like playing with Ollie all the time. He didn't understand why it couldn't just be him and Harry anymore. Why did Ollie always have to be around? Ollie was much rougher then Neville, and when Ollie was around Harry was much rougher too. But if Neville didn't play with Ollie, he couldn't play with Harry either. And it seemed like Ollie was _always_ at Harry's! Neville wasn't the kind of boy to speak his mind, but he never liked joining in Harry and Ollie's rough games either.

One day, as mid July came and went, Sirius brought up the topic of Neville's birthday. "Do you want to share with Harry again, or would you like your own party this year?" he asked the boy.

"Share with Harry!" Neville replied. "I like having the same party as Harry!"

"OK then," Sirius chuckled. "We'll have Grandma Longbottom, of course, Uncle Remus, Uncle Ted and Aunt Dromeda, and the Weasleys."

"I'm sure James and Harry will invite Darcey and Ollie, as well," Alice put in.

"Of course," Sirius nodded with a grin.

"No!" Neville stated loudly, his eyes wide. "Ollie's not allowed at my party!"

Sirius looked at Neville, startled. "Why not, Neville? I thought you were Ollie's friend," he questioned.

"No, I don't like Ollie and I don't want him at my party," Neville insisted.

"Why don't you like him?" Alice asked her son.

"Harry was my friend before he was Ollie's, and he's my friend more then Ollie's." Neville insisted. Despite several attempts to get more out of the boy, that was all Sirius and Alice were able to get.

After Neville was put to bed, Sirius and Alice spent time talking about the party situation.

"I think Neville is jealous that Harry has another friend," Alice stated. "He's used to having Harry all to himself despite the play dates with Ron, few and far between. He was willing to share on that occasion, but when it's all the time like it is with Ollie, he doesn't like it."

"Well, Harry and Ollie always include him in their play," Sirius countered. "I think Neville needs to get used to having Ollie around, because he's not going anywhere. He's going to have to agree to have Ollie at the party, it's Harry's party too."

"I agree," Alice said, moving to curl up on the couch next to her husband. "Neville needs more time to get used to having Ollie around. I think he'll warm up to him eventually."

Sirius gently massaged his wife's shoulders, "Well, we'll talk to him in the morning. Hopefully he'll see that it wouldn't be fair to Harry to exclude Ollie. I don't think Neville dislike's Ollie, I think he just misses Harry. But we can't simply ask James to not let Ollie come over as much. James loves having Darcey and Ollie around."

"I think what Neville really needs is a brother or sister. A permanent playmate of his own," Alice stated. It took Sirius a moment to get the meaning of her statement.

"A what?" he asked, leaning over her shoulder to look into her eyes.

"How about in, say, 7 months we give him a little brother or sister?" she asked her husband. It would be clear to anyone else by the hastiness in her voice and the smile on her face that she'd been waiting for the right time to tell him all day.

Sirius just stared at her for a moment before a wide grin crossed his face and he jumped off the couch, lifting his wife in his arms and spinning around. "I think that's a grand idea!" he said, placing her on her feet and pulling her into an embrace, kissing her sweetly.

"This is cause to celebrate!" he said as they ended the kiss, he summoned the fire whisky and poured two glassfuls, handing one to his wife.

Alice laughed as she banished hers, and replaced it with sparkling juice. Sirius laughed at his own foolishness in handing her the whisky, and apologized before clanking his cup against hers and downing it.

"A baby! Wow!" he said, as the two lay in bed later that night. He moved so his head was on her still flat stomach, listening intently. Alice laughed. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Thought maybe I could hear it," Sirius stated, moving his head back to his pillow, kissing her on the way. Alice chuckled again, overjoyed at her husband's sweet reaction to the news of a new little baby.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Harry and Ollie had finally gone to sleep, and James was settling down with his tea for the night, when he heard a rap on the door. Confusedly, he got up and went to the door. The only people that used the front door were Neville, Sirius and Darcey. Darcey was at work, and he was sure Sirius wouldn't be calling this late…and if he was, he'd use the floo. James answered the door to find Albus Dumbledore standing on the other side.

"Professor!" he exclaimed, widening the door to allow entrance for the older man. "What brings you this way?"

"I was just in for a drink at the Three Broomsticks, and I dropped by to discuss something with you," the elderly man explained.

"Well, come in, come in. Have a seat," James said, motioning to the couch he had abandoned. "Would you like a cup of tea?" he asked.

"I would, thank you" Dumbledore replied. James summoned it and Albus began fixing it to his liking, before finally turning to James and explaining his presence.

"I find myself in need, James. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher I had lined up got a better offer for another job, and as it's the middle of July I need a new teacher, quickly."

James eyed the older man cautiously. "So are you asking for a recommendation?" he asked, guessing the real reason.

"I'm asking for a teacher," Albus corrected. "Would you consider the position, James? I know you'd be great at it, and it would really help me out."

"I don't know, Professor. I have Harry to consider," James replied.

"Albus. You're not a student anymore, James," he corrected. "And Harry would be fine, we would make the arrangements for suitable quarters for you both. He'll be attending the school in Hogsmeade this year, correct?"

James nodded his agreement, he had enrolled Harry in the wizarding primary school in Hogsmeade, to begin in September. "I'll need to think on it. Give me till the end of the week," he told the headmaster. Albus agreed and left through the floo, back to Hogwarts. James went to bed that night with a lot on his mind.

The next morning when Darcey arrived to pick up Ollie, James told her about the meeting with the headmaster the night before. Darcey seemed altogether thrilled at the idea, and urged him to take the job. She told him that she had a meeting with Madame Pomfrey to become her apprentice this year and finish her schooling, so she and Ollie would be living at Hogwarts that year as well. That very day, James floo called Dumbledore to accept the position.

X X X X X X X X X X X

Neville was overjoyed at the thought of a new baby brother or sister, all for his own! He accepted the idea of Ollie coming to his party when Sirius told him that Ollie wouldn't be starting school this year with Harry and Neville, because he was only 4. Neville decided he could deal with Ollie; after all, Ollie was only a little kid…he only just 4 years old, and here Neville was almost 5! The party was as big a success as Ron's, and Neville and Harry were both spoiled with a mountain of gifts. Neville agreeably played along with the other kids, as it was his own party and he didn't want to be left out. He was five now, as Sirius pointed out, and wanted to be a big boy! Big boys didn't sit with their mums and dads while the other kids played.

Harry was thrilled about the idea of moving to Hogwarts: the place he could see from his backyard but thought he could only dream about until he was 11! Neville was not so thrilled about his best friend moving away from across the street, but Sirius pointed out that he was still only a floo away, and Neville would see him every day at school. Plus, Neville would get to spend some time in Hogwarts as well.

They were all thrilled at Sirius and Alice's impending baby, though Harry was too curious about it for James' liking, and he avoided the questions asked.

_**A/N. Note: I don't really know where wizarding children go to school prior to Hogwarts; I always thought it was odd it was never mentioned. I would assume either homeschool, tutor, or a muggle primary school; however it would seem odd to me to send a wizard child to a muggle primary school, as wizard children can't control accidental magic, and would risk exposing the wizarding world by saying too much as well, so I decided to invent a wizarding primary school for the sake of this story. I know it's not canon :) **_


	12. Hogwarts

**_Here's another chapter! Warning that there is a *very* mild spanking in this one, if that offends you, feel free to click on the X button. Thanks for reading and reviewing!_**

**_~Elle  
><em>**

August was moving quickly, what with James and Harry packing to move to Hogwarts for the school year. As their chambers would come fully furnished, they needed only pack clothing, toys, and other personal belongings. Before they knew it, mid August arrived and, with two weeks left till September, the Potters were settling into their chambers within the castle. James was pleased with the size of the chambers; Harry and James each had a bedroom, in addition to a living room and even a small kitchen so they could choose to eat in the chambers rather than the Great Hall.

James had barely set out moving his things into his bureau, when his energetic son shot into his room and jumped up onto the bed, begging James to go see Ollie's chambers. James had barely finished convincing him to wait and finish some unpacking when they heard insistent knocking on the door. James went to open it, Harry on his heels, to find the subject of their conversation on the other side.

"Ollie couldn't wait any longer," Darcey told him, an apologetic look on her face, "he's been begging to come up here from the moment we arrived."

James laughed and let her in as Harry had already grabbed Ollie's hand and dragged him into his bedroom. "Harry's been begging too," he admitted. "We were just about to go down if you hadn't come up."

The job of unpacking was quickly accomplished with a few waves of James' wand, and he spent the next few hours talking with Darcey on the couch while the boys played in Harry's room. Dinner approached too soon for his liking, and he found himself calling the boys to head down to the Great Hall for the welcome staff meal.

Harry observed and absorbed everything he saw on the walk through the castle from his chambers to the Great Hall. He was excited to explore, he and Ollie could find all sorts of fun here! But right now, he held tight to his father's hand as they entered the big room with floating candles and a sky instead of a ceiling. For it's size, the room currently didn't hold many people; they were all sitting at one table at the front of the room, and they were all staring at him at the moment and he didn't like it. Harry was not a shy boy by any definition of the word, but he suddenly felt himself feeling very shy as they made their way to the table holding a lot of adults Harry didn't know…and a few that he did. He knew Albus and Minnie, and he had met Poppy earlier that day, but the rest he didn't know. James sat down, and helped Harry into a raised seat next to him, as Ollie took the seat between Harry and his mother.

"Welcome, welcome!" Albus exclaimed with gusto. "As you all can see, we have a few new members of our staff, and will be hosting two younger members this year as well. James Potter is our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and of course his son Harry will be staying here; and Darcey Roberts is Poppy's new apprentice, with her son Ollie." Harry looked around as he was announced, and saw mostly kind faces and looks of welcome, but one man scared him, and he scooted as close to his father as he could in his chair. The man had black hair and black eyes, and stared at him with a mean, mean look. The rest of dinner was boring, the adults talked and after they were full, Harry and Ollie entertained themselves with a swordfight using their silverware.

At last, dinner was over and James invited Darcey and Ollie to the chambers for a celebration of their own. The boys changed into pajamas and they played a few rounds of exploding snap, before both boys were nearly asleep on their feet. The parents carried their children into Harry's room, and placed them on his bed, before enjoying wine and biscuits in the living room.

The hour got later, but James and Darcey never ran out of things to talk about. Finally, Darcey pointed out the late hour, and the fact that their boys would be waking them in just a few short hours. James suggested Darcey spend the night rather than attempt to carry Ollie back to their chambers now. Darcey agreed and settled in on the couch with the blanket and pillow James had conjured, and James went to bed his first night in Hogwarts with pleased but troubled thoughts. He hadn't had these feelings toward a woman in a long time, and he wasn't sure what to do with them. Especially when there were two little boys involved that, should things end badly, would get hurt. He was also fully aware of how badly he wanted to pursue his feelings, risks be damned!

The next morning, true to their prediction, the boys were up with the sun and bouncing off walls before the adults could have their first cup of morning coffee. "Ollie! Your mummy and my daddy had a sleepover, too!" Harry commented as James ordered breakfast from the kitchens, which appeared moments later on the small table. Afterward, Darcey took both boys back to the hospital wing where she would be helping Poppy prepare for students, while James went to a teachers meeting.

"Can we explore, Darcey?" Harry asked, as Ollie nodded in agreement, on the way to the hospital wing.

Darcey shook her head. "You'll get lost in a moment! I'd rather you wait for an adult to take you exploring," she told the boys, to their disappointment.

"We won't get lost, Mummy! We'll be real careful!" Ollie insisted, but Darcey shook her head, opening the door to the wing, and ushering the boys in. "Maybe James or I can take you later today," she offered, "Right now I have things to do. You boys can play in the office, I brought all sorts of games down." The boys grudgingly followed her past Poppy and into the office, where sure enough most of Ollie's games were sitting.

The boys played nicely for a good two hours before Darcey came to check on them and bring them a snack. "I'm very proud of you boys, you're listening so well and playing so nicely. Just a few more hours, then after lunch we'll take a walk around the castle," she promised, before leaving them alone again.

"I'm bored," Harry commented, putting down his cracker. "Me too," Ollie agreed.

Harry thought for a moment, before his eyes lit up. "Hey, I know! Let's play we're dragon hunters, and there are dragons hiding all around the castle!"

"And we hafta find 'em before they take over the school!" Ollie agreed. He glanced out the door, his mother was in the store closet taking inventory and Poppy had left for Hogsmeade to pick up more potions ingredients. "I bet Mum won't even know we're gone, we just gotta get back here before lunch! She said that's in a few hours, that's _ages_ away," Ollie commented, opening the door as quietly as he could.

The boys were able to make it through the hospital wing and out the door without being noticed. "Which way?" Harry asked, looking in each direction of the hallway they now stood in. As he looked down the vast expanse of corridor, he realized that it might be hard to find their way back, but put that thought aside at the thought of a fun adventure ahead.

"This way!" shouted Ollie, marching off toward the right, arm out in front of him. "The dragons are doomed!"

Harry followed, laughing, peering into different doors but finding nothing exciting. They took random turns, and climbed the first set of stairs when they came to them. Halfway up the stairs, the staircase began to move. Harry screamed at the unexpected movement, but the staircase stopped shortly thereafter, and both boys decided it was, indeed, pretty cool that they would move.

Harry opened the door to a bathroom, and Ollie, realizing he had to go, marched inside. Harry decided he'd better try to go as well, and made his way to a stall, when he heard a scream and fell tripped backwards in fright. There, in front of him, was a girl…but she was see-through! And she wasn't very happy to see him!

"This is a GIRLS lavatory!" the see-through girl—was she a ghost?—said. "You're not supposed to be in here!"

"I...I…I…we…we didn't know!" Harry stuttered in response. Ollie was standing against the stall he had been in, watching the scene in fright.

"Children shouldn't be here at all," the ghost said, angrily. "School hasn't started yet, I'm to be left alone in my misery for a little while yet! Leave here, and use your own toilet!" she shouted at the boys, before throwing herself into one of the toilets. Harry and Ollie wasted no time in hightailing it out the door.

"Did you know ghosts were real?" Harry asked. Ollie shook his head. "C'mon, no dragons in there, lets keep going!" he said, recovering from the encounter quickly and leading the way down the hallway.

"Ollie," Harry asked as they walked down a corridor. "You think your mum and my dad would ever get married? We would be brothers, then. Wouldn't that be cool? Neville's mum and my Uncle Sirius got married, and now Neville's gonna have a new brother or sister."

Ollie's eyes lit up at the idea. "Yeah! Maybe they would! We should ask them! I've always wanted a brother, and we would be great brothers! My mum and your dad like each other, and my mum is happier since she met your dad. I bet they would be good at being married."

So, the boys decided, they would each talk to their perspective parent about the matter at the earliest convenience.

And speaking of parents, Harry hoped he would be able to find his…and he wouldn't be in too much trouble.

As the boys came to another set of stairs, Harry paused. "D'you know how to get back to your mum?" he asked his friend. Ollie shook his head. "Maybe we should try to find out, then we can keep going," Harry suggested. Ollie agreed, and the boys backtracked. The hallways, however, were too confusing. They had no clue where they turned to come this way, and nothing looked familiar. Harry was starting to get concerned. They were lost! He mentioned this to Ollie, who seemed unconcerned.

"They're all in the castle," he pointed out. "They'll find us. But I bet it's not even close to lunch yet, lets keep playing for now!" Harry thought about this for a moment. True, even if he couldn't find his way back, he knew his dad was in the very same building; they might as well enjoy the time they have before they get in trouble for sneaking off. He agreed, and ran after Ollie, who was already halfway down the hall.

_Meanwhile, in the hospital wing—_

Darcey finished taking inventory of the supply closet, and decided to go and relieve the boys early. They could run around the hospital wing for a little while. She felt bad for leaving them alone for so long, but was proud of them for playing so nicely. She knew that was a big task for two energetic little boys! She would make sure they knew how much she appreciated it, and would reward them.

When she got to the office, however, it was to her surprise that the door was open and the boys were missing. She didn't see or hear them in the wing, and wondered how long they had been gone. She had just left them their snack an hour and a half ago, and she could have kicked herself for not checking on them sooner. They were playing so well in there before snack (and she had checked on them several times then), and she assumed they would follow her orders. Admittedly, she got so caught up in her inventory count, she quite forgot the boys were with her. She was so used to doing this kind of thing, and Ollie was never at work with her, that lost track of things. The door to the hospital wing wasn't properly shut; she quickly stepped into the corridor, but had no clue where they could have gone. She wished she had a spell to find two mischievous little boys! She called for them, to no answer, so she made a quick decision to go right. Darcey looked on her own for 20 minutes or so before she decided the boys could be anywhere by now, and went to the staff room instead. When she arrived, they were all exiting the staff room for lunch.

She pulled James aside. "What's wrong?" he asked, noting her frantic demeanor.

"Harry and Ollie ran off. They asked if they could explore the castle, and I told them one of us would take them later; they could get lost on their own. They were disappointed, but I asked them to play quietly in the office while I finished some work, and they ran off on their own. I looked, but I'm afraid they could be anywhere by now. I'm so sorry, James. I should have checked on them sooner," Darcey said, a tear running down her cheek.

James wiped it away. "It's not your fault they decided to run off," he told her. "They probably just decided to have a little adventure despite you." But James was concerned; there's no telling how much trouble two 4 and 5 year old boys could find in a castle this size; especially when not everything was secured for student safety yet. The castle wasn't safe for two little boys to be wandering alone.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand and leading her after his co-workers on their way to the great hall. He caught up with Albus halfway across the hall. "Harry and Ollie decided to explore the castle, we're not sure how long they've been gone," he told the headmaster. "We're going to find them."

"We'll all help, James," Dumbledore said. "You two will have a hard time finding them yourselves, they could be anywhere. I'll alert the ghosts to keep a lookout as well." James nodded his agreement as McGonagall began assigning territories for each teacher to search.

_~The boys~_

The boys made it up several more flights of stairs, slayed several imaginary dragons, ran in and out of room after room, through corridor after corridor. At long last, Harry's tummy started rumbling, reminding him of lunch. He stopped Ollie.

"I bet it's nearly lunch," he told his friend. "I'm hungry! Let's try to go back now." Ollie agreed, realizing his hunger as well.

They walked for quite awhile, trying to find their way back down without success. Now, it was Ollie starting to get anxious. "D'ya think they'll find us Harry? This place is awful big!"

Harry was scared, too, but he put on a brave face. He was almost a whole year older then Ollie, after all. It was his job as the oldest to make Ollie feel better. "Don't worry, Ol. We're in the very same building, they'll find us! We just gotta keep trying to find _them_ too! Maybe it's not even lunch yet. If we find the hospital wing, maybe your mum will never know we left!" Harry held out hope, but he had a feeling they were noticed.

"I guess," Ollie agreed, "and I bet…" but he paused, noticing that Harry had stopped dead. He had just walked through something icy cold; it gave him the shivers. He caught Ollie's surprised face and turned around to see another of the see-through people floating in front of them. This one, however, looked much more cheerful then the girl in the toilet.

"Well, hello there," the man said. "You wouldn't by chance be a Mr. Harry Potter and a Mr. Ollie Roberts, would you?"

Harry nodded yes before asking, "are you a ghost?"

"That I am," the ghost replied.

"We saw a ghost before! She was mad at us for going in her loo. But we didn't mean to, I just hadda go, I didn't know it was a _girls_ toilet," Ollie explained.

"That would have been Moaning Myrtle; she's a sad, sad soul," the ghost-man replied. "Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Porpington is my name."

"That's a funny name!" Ollie said, giggling.

"I beg your pardon?" The ghost asked, offended.

"He means it's long! It musta taken you a long time to remember!" Harry said, coming to his friends aide.

"Indeed," was the reply. "You can call me Sir Nicholas. You do realize that the entire castle is on the search for you two, all ghosts included," he informed them.

"Ya mean theres more of you ghosts?" Ollie asked, eyes wide.

"The entire castle? All the teachers?" Harry asked, eyes also wide.

"Yes, on both counts," Nick replied.

"We got lost! We were playing, but we couldn't find our way back!" Harry exclaimed, defensively.

"Follow me, I shall lead the way," Sir Nick told them, turning and heading back in the opposite direction, leaving both boys to chase after him. A floor down they found the mean looking man from the Great Hall.

The man's lips turned upward, but it wasn't like the smile Harry was used to seeing. It was mean. "There you are. Think you're beyond the rules, even now, Potter? Think you're old enough to go strutting about the castle on your own the first time you set foot here? Think it's funny that the entire staff has to put it's time on hold to look for the likes of two snot-nosed little children? Here for not even a day and you think yourself below the rules, and drag your little friend along with you. Just like you're father, you are, Potter. Come with me." He grabbed both boys by the arm, and turned toward the ghost looking piteously at the two young boys. "Find their parents and tell them I'm taking them to the staff room," he said, before turning and dragging the boys after him.

Harry was confused at the scary man's words. He wasn't sure what the man meant about strutting and being beyond words, though he was sure that despite the man's mean words he had complimented him and said he was like his father. Still, Harry understood that for whatever reason, the man didn't like him. He quietly allowed himself to be dragged back to the staff room, where he was shoved in a chair next to Ollie and sat waiting for his father.

When Nick told the frantic parents the whereabouts of their sons', the two hightailed it back to the staff room to find two sullen faced little boys sitting on a large chair with a cruel looking potions master standing in front of them.

"Thank you, Severus," James said, stepping past him and pulling Harry up into a hug, as Darcey did the same with Ollie.

"Maybe if you taught that kid a little discipline, he would…" Severus began, but James cut him off. "Thank you for finding them, Severus. We'll handle it from here," he said dismissively, referring to himself and Darcey. Severus turned and stalked out of the staff room, leaving James, Harry, Darcey and Ollie alone in the staff room. James let go of the hug and sat his son back in the chair, as Darcey did the same.

"What were you thinking?" he asked, angrily. Both boys looked at their knees, and did not answer. "Harry," growled James.

"We were bored," Harry explained, quietly. "We just wanted an adventure."

"So you just left? After you were told you weren't allowed to wander around the castle on your own? There are good reasons you were to wait for an adult!" James exclaimed, his anger evident. He reached down and pulled his son off the chair, leading him back to their chambers. Behind them, he knew Darcey was taking Ollie back to hers.

When they had reached their chambers, James closed the door and sat down, standing Harry in front of him. "You deliberately disobeyed Darcey, did you not?" he asked, sternly. "She said she would take you later!"

"Yes, but…" Harry paused, and looked down at his shoes. "But what?" James asked, to no answer. "But what, Harry?" he repeated, lifting the boy's chin to look at him.

"We…we wanted to play by ourselves! It's not an adventure with a grown up, and we…we thought we would be back and Darcey would never know we left! It was stupid that she said no, anyway!" Harry exclaimed, indignant once he got going.

That, apparently, was not the right thing to say, as James turned Harry to the side and swiftly landed two smacks to his son's backside. "OW!" Harry yelled, and threw his hands back as James stood and led the boy to the table, sitting him in the chair. "You respect the adult in charge of you, Harry. You don't run off and do whatever you think you can get away with, just because you want to! I want you sit here and think about why your choices were wrong today. I don't want to hear a word until I tell you speak," he instructed, and settled down on the couch to do some thinking of his own.

Truthfully, he knew Harry was a lot like him, and while that made him proud, it also made him nervous; he did NOT want a teenager like he had been. James never set much store by the rules, either, and got away with far more than he should have. His parents were good parents and did the best they could, but had their only child later on in years, and spoiled him rotten. They wanted to believe their perfect son could do no wrong. He could admit, now, that he was a disrespectful conceited little git with an insanely inflated ego as a teenager, and he couldn't blame Lily one bit for despising him until he'd matured. While he felt like a hypocrite, Harry wasn't going to get away with all that James had; his parents hadn't done him any favors by letting him get away with everything. It had very nearly gotten him expelled.

Five minutes later, James joined Harry at the table. "Well, what did you think about?" he asked after a moment.

"I disobeyed," Harry replied. "And I guess we worried Darcey, huh? We didn't mean to, daddy! We just wanted to play, we were sick of sitting in that room!"

"You worried all of us, kiddo. We had no idea where you two were, or if you'd even left the castle. This is a huge school, it's very easy to get lost in and it's not a safe place for two little boys to be wandering about on their own. And yes, you did disobey Darcey. We don't make rules to stop you from having fun, we do it to keep you safe. If you had just gone out and told Darcey you were bored, do you think she would have said, 'tough, I'm busy, go entertain yourselves'?" James asked. Harry shrugged. "What do you think she would have done, Harry?"

"Found us something to do?" Harry suggested after a moment. "I bet so, maybe she would have even taken you for a walk around the castle right then, for behaving so well," James responded. "I don't know if I can trust you to obey the adult I leave you with, next time, bud. What if you get hurt because you're doing something you're not supposed to."

"But I won't!" Harry insisted. "I'll be good!"

"That's what you said this morning when I left you with Darcey," James pointed out. "So here's what's going to happen. For the rest of today and all day tomorrow, I'm not letting you out of my sight. You'll be right by me, all day, wherever I go, and there will be no playing with Ollie. If you can obey me all day, I'll trust you to do the same for others, and you may play with Ollie again and have some freedom again. Understand?"

Harry nodded, miserably. "I'm sorry, Daddy," he said. James pulled him into a hug and squeezed him tight. "You're forgiven, bub. I was just so worried about you!" With that, James ordered lunch for Harry and himself, and both ate ravishingly. After lunch James challenged the boy to a game of exploding snap in an attempt to lighten the mood. It worked, and within moments Harry was laughing hysterically.

A short while later that afternoon, James led Harry through the halls to his classroom. "You know what would really help me out a lot?" he asked on the way. Harry looked up at his father, waiting for the answer. "If you could help me organize my classroom," James continued. "You're so good at organizing and I need your input! Do you think you could help?"

Harry nodded eagerly. "I like helping you, dad!" he told his father.

"Good!" James said, as they entered the classroom and he magically opened the shades and windows, letting the sunlight and fresh air stream in and. "And look how plain this classroom is! I bet some of your pictures could liven it up in here. Do you think you could draw me some pictures, too?"

Again, Harry nodded eagerly. The two set to work, Harry telling his father where he thought things should go and James taking his advice and unpacking the room. Then, as James sat down to do some lesson planning, Harry drew pictures copied from a book of magical creatures for his father to hang up around the room.

"Daddy," Harry spoke up, suddenly remembering his pact with Ollie.

"Yeah?" James replied offhandedly, looking at his lessons and not completely paying attention.

"Will you marry Darcey?"

"What?" James asked, missing the question.

"Will you marry Darcey?" He asked again. This time, James heard loud and clear, and nearly fell out of his chair in surprise at the question.

"What makes you ask that?" He finally asked.

"You like each other. You make her laugh, and she makes you smile. Auntie Alice and Uncle Sirius got married because they like each other. I think you would be good at being married," he told his father, very seriously.

James managed to choke back a chuckle at the innocent response. Not that he hadn't imagined the possibility of a life with Darcey; he had. It was just…"there's more to being married then liking each other, Harry," he explained, turning his chair to face Harry's little table.

"Like what?" Harry asked, putting down his crayons and looking at his father.

"Well, you have to love each other."

"You look like you do."

"And you have to be able to work together, and do things as a team."

"You make a good team! "

"You have to be able to talk about disagreements without turning it into a fight."

"You never fight with Darcey. You always just talk."

"You have to be able to raise kids together."

"You already do that, too, silly!"

James didn't know what to say, but Harry sure did.

"So here's what you should do. You should buy her a ring, and then ask her to marry you. Or if you want, I could ask her for you. Because I think she makes a real good mummy, and I want her to be mine, too. And I want a brother, too, and this way I don't have to wait for my brother to grow up like Neville will, I can play with him right away!"

"Hold on there, buddy," James halted him. "You're going way too fast for me. Darcey and I are just friends right now, alright?"

"Do you love her?" Harry interrupted.

James startled at this question, because truth be told had fallen in love and he knew it. That was enough for his overly observant little boy. "I knew it!" he remarked.

"Now listen here," James told him. "We've only known each other through the summer. And I need you to understand that if I ever do get remarried, she wouldn't replace your mum. I want you to always remember your mum Lily and how much she loved you."

"I know that, daddy!" Harry brushed the statement away. "I still can have a new mum and still love her though, just like Neville and his daddy!" Harry looked down at his parchment and colored for a few seconds before looking back at his father. "Is my school gonna be this big, daddy? Will I get lost?"

James, grateful for the change of subject, assured his son that his new school would be _much_ smaller, and no, he would not get lost. The rest of the time before dinner was spent discussing what Harry's new school would be like, and by the time it was time to go to the great hall, Harry seemed very excited.

In the great hall, James held true to his word and did not allow Harry to sit next to Ollie at the table, to both boys' dismay. Darcey sat between the boys, with James on Harry's other side. Without prompt, Harry apologized to Darcey for disobeying and sneaking away. James was very proud, and told him so. James reflected on the negative side to Harry's punishment; he couldn't invite Darcey to the chambers that evening if Harry wasn't allowed to play with Ollie. James suddenly wished he'd thought to discuss the boys' punishment ahead of time, because Ollie seemed quite upset that Harry wasn't allowed to play that night.

"Darcey," Harry spoke up halfway through dinner, "will you marry my dad?" James and Darcey both started coughing, choking on whatever was in their mouths at the time, and James was fully aware that his sons' question had brought stares in their direction.

"Harry!" James finally caught his breath. "We talked about this!"

"Yeah, but you never said no, and I told you I could ask her for you, so I am," Harry told his father, before turning back to Darcey. "So, will you?"

"Yeah mum, will you?" Ollie chimed in.

"This isn't an appropriate conversation for right now, Harry. I'm sorry, Darcey," James said, trying to disengage the conversation.

"But she didn't say no, dad!" Harry insisted. "Ollie and I talked about it, and we wanna be brothers, and we both want a mum _and_ a dad. And we love you guys, and you love each other, so whats the big deal?"

"Harry, that's enough," James said, sternly this time. "This is not an appropriate conversation right now, drop it please."

Darcey, for her part, simply smiled as she lifted her mug and took a large drink of tea.

Back in their chambers, James was having a very hard time convincing Harry that it's not his place to ask Darcey to marry him. Harry insisted that if they waited on James, it would never happen, and he didn't see what they were waiting for, and Darcey didn't say no, and James never said no, either.

The next morning at breakfast, James sat next to Darcey, so Harry didn't have as much capability of talking to her, two seats away. The two stole glances at each other, trying to figure out what the other was thinking all throughout breakfast, and barely spoke a word to one another. James felt awkward after the questioning of his son the night before, and didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. He spoke shortly to other professors, not really paying attention to the conversation. When they were finished eating, James ushered his son out of the hall quickly and up to the classroom.

That morning he had another staff meeting, at which Harry had to sit quietly at a table in the corner of the room, coloring. Harry was not a happy boy by lunch time, as his father wouldn't let him do _anything_ on his own; he even walked him to the loo! But he did a good job of obeying, determined to win his freedom back for the next day.

Lunch was much the same as breakfast, the impregnated silence between James and Darcey pulsating, obvious to all, while they both gave short contribution to other conversations. Again, James rushed Harry off after lunch, and spent part of the afternoon doing lesson plans while Harry colored.

"Daddy, I'm bored," Harry complained after 2 hours of drawing. Can we go play?"

"I really need to get these done, Harry. We'll play for a little while before dinner. I can summon a toy from your room though, what would you like?"

"Can't I go play with Ollie? You can get your stuff done, then," Harry asked.

"Sorry bud, you know what I told you yesterday."

"But I've been good all day!" Harry contradicted.

"You have, but I said all day today, and the day's half over. Make it through today, and tomorrow you can play with Ollie again, and I bet you won't be running off on your own, will you?"

"No," Harry replied with a sulk, picking up a crayon, "I won't."

An hour before dinner, James called it quits and pulled out a set of gobstones, challenging Harry to a game, to which Harry won.

"Are you gonna talk to her at dinner, dad?" Harry asked as the game ended.

"That is not your business," James responded with finality.

Halfway through dinner that night with the same awkward silence, Harry cracked. "Darcey, do you wanna be my mum or not?" he asked with exasperation.

James was coming close to throttling his son for his tactless questions, but Darcey's response took him by surprise.

"I'm not sure that's what your father wants right now, Harry," she told him kindly.

"Yes he does," Harry contradicted. "He just won't ask you cuz you've only known him for a summer. But he wants to."

James clasped his hand over Harry's mouth, and was getting ready to carry him out of the Great Hall if he had to, to keep him from saying another word. He caught Darcey's eye and gave her a smile. He knew his son was right; he had fallen in love with Darcey.

"Well if that's the case, I think your father needs to open his big mouth and ask me himself," she winked at Harry. Harry pulled James' hand off his mouth, and spoke up.

"Yeah, dad, open your big mouth and ask her yourself!" He repeated.

James, taking the only course of action he could think of, finally spoke up.

"Well, what do you say? He didn't give me much time to buy a ring, but…"

Darcey smiled brightly and leaned over to kiss him.

"AHA!" the voice from the other side of the table broke the moment. "Twenty galleons to me!" Filius Flitwick exclaimed.

"She hasn't said yes," McGonagall contradicted.

"That was a yes," assured Darcey, and James laughed out loud as McGonagall handed over the gold.

"What was the bet?" he couldn't help but ask. "That we would or wouldn't get married?"

"Oh no, we all knew you would get engaged sooner or later," Fillius assured them as Snape stood up with a disgusted look on his face and wordlessly left the great hall. "Minnie just thought Harry wouldn't successfully play a part in it. I disagreed, I bet that Harry would succeed in the end."


End file.
